Masquerade in the Night
by Green Phantom Queen
Summary: In the land of Harmona, twin brothers Adam and Jay soon wind up joining the infamous Dream Circus lead by the ringleader Gangrel. During their travels, the Circus will soon be caught in the midst of the battle between Gaea and her brother Darkness. AU
1. Gemini, The Twins

_Hey there! This is your writer Green Phantom Queen coming to you with a brand new story for all of you! _

_Now I don't want to spoil anything, so let me say my disclaimer._

_I do not own the names of the wrestlers portrayed in this story: all rights belong to the WWE and Vince McMahon._

_Now, let's go!_

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**Masquerade in the Night**

**by Green Phantom Queen**

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**Chapter 1- Gemini, The Twins**

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_**Once upon a time, in the land known as Harmonia, there was the mother of creation Gaea.**_

_**She created the 6 guardians of nature to help rule the land after she created the land, and its inhabitants. Each guardian had its own shrine and ruled in a specific area.**_

_**There was fire, who lived upon the volcanoes, bringing life-giving flame and warmth to people who have gone cold.**_

_**There was wind, who flew across the mountains, bringing in a gentle breeze for those who have wandered.**_

_**There was light, who brought in the magic to let plants grow, and bring in smiles for those who have become sad.**_

_**There was shadow, whose stars decorated the evening skies for those who have lost their way.**_

_**There was water, who brought rain for those who were dying of thirst and helped clear the skies of the gloom that haunted them.**_

_**And there was earth, who helped nurture the plants growing in the ground, and was a place for the fauna to roam around.**_

_**But while there were these 6 guardians, there was also the Darkness, Gaea's brother. He wanted to control his sister's gentle attitude, and had cursed the 6 guardians to bring in destruction to those who would try to oppose him. **_

_**Chaos soon reigned: Fire burned the forests down, wind created tornadoes, light scorched the earth, shadows suffocated the bright sky, the water flooded the world, and the earth quaked and caused buildings to fall.**_

_**For these deeds, Gaea, along with her 6 guardians, sealed Darkness away into the center of the Earth. She could not stop her brother's curse; instead, she decided to let nature run its course so balance can be maintained. She then ascended into the sky and fell asleep, only to awake when danger arrived.**_

_**And for centuries, people suffered and prospered, in a never-ending cycle of good and evil. In the midst of this, a small band of travelers became popular around the land, bringing in hope and happiness for those who needed it.**_

_**They were known as the Circus of Dreams....**_

**0 0 0 0 0 0 **

"STOP THAT THIEF!!!!!"

In the market place, a bunch of guards were seen running after a young teenager boy who was carrying a small burlap sack over his shoulder. The boy had long blonde hair down past his shoulders and fierce blue eyes, a smirk was on his face as he zigzagged across the fruit stands; making sure he filled the sack with a couple of apples before running.

"After him!" The leader of the guards cried as he saw the boy pick up the piece of cheese. The boy looked at them and blew a raspberry.

"Make me!" The boy cried out. "No one can catch me! I'm Adam the thief lord, and don't you forget it!"

With that, he immediately got out of the market and into the woods, three guards were immediately following suite. While all of the villagers followed after them, they did not notice another boy with blonde hair come up. He looked similar to Adam, except he had gentle blue eyes and a soft smile on his face. He chuckled to himself as he picked up two loaves of bread, some more fruit, and a bottle of fresh apple cider. Packing it in his own sack, he came back to get a couple of sausages before he made it out of the gates, whistling in delight.

"I always love it when I, Jay the gentle can get away with stealing so easily!" He said, looking back at the deserted marketplace.

**0 0 0 0 0 0**

Night had fallen upon the town of Alle; the villagers grumbled in anger, finding out that not only did Adam escape, but his brother Jay got his hands on some goods too.

Jay and Adam were in the forest, giving each other a toast with the bottle of apple cider. They chugged it down as they roasted a sausage each over a roaring fire; both of them were laughing on how they had successfully pulled the wool over the villager's eyes once more.

"That was too easy!" Adam cried. "I can't believe they fell for the old "follow one twin, while the other twin hides" trick!"

"I know!" Jay added. "Those guys are idiots!"

Adam nodded as he took a bite out of his food; he and Jay were orphaned at the tender age of 10 when their mom passed away. They never got to know their father, but for their sake, they wished he would rot in hell. The two survived by stealing from the village, and they have never been caught since. Over the years, they collected a fortune of small trinkets and coins, keeping them so they could one day buy a horse-drawn cart to ride away from the town. But right now: they were down about 3 melodi—with each melodi being worth about 25 beats—before they could finally get the cart. Then after that was the 100 clefas—one clefa was equivalent to about 50 melodi—that was needed for the horses, and the supplies needed to take care of them. At this rate, they weren't going to leave any time soon.

"You know," Jay said, swallowing his sausage. "I always wonder, are we always going to be stealing food and money to survive?"

Adam hesitated, staring at the flickering flames in front of them. "I honestly don't know the answer to that question, myself." He replied. He then gave a soft smile to his younger brother. "But we're going to make it somehow. I promise you that."

Jay sipped the last of the apple cider he had in his goblet. "Yeah, I hope we get out of this place too. Every time we escape that damn place, I just feel like those guys are getting closer and closer in capturing us."

"Look at it this way," said Adam, holding the sack of coins. "With all of this melodi, we can pull all our supplies by carriage and finally get to explore the land." He laid down, looking up at the night sky. "Jay, remember those tales mom told us about?"

"What tales?"

"The tales about Gaea and the 6 guardians. Her favorite one was the Guardian of Shadow, Leonard; he was the one who decorated the night sky with stars so people could find their way in the dark. Personally, I liked the Guardian of Earth."

"Mine was the Guardian of Water, because he brought the water of life to those who could not drink." Jay tried to stifle a yawn but it still came out. "I'm tired; let's get some sleep."

Adam smiled as he brought out a bucket of water, pouring the liquid onto the roaring fire. The fire died in an instant; all that was left was a set of smoldering, black logs.

Jay laid next to his brother, wrapping his arms and snuggling deep into his chest. "Good night, Adam."

Adam brought out a warm blanket and tucked the both of them in. "Good night, Jay."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 **

It was morning when the man went into the tent; he saw around 9 or 10 teenagers asleep. The man sighed, massaging his temples; his grey eyes just stared down at the teenagers who were completely oblivious to who had just entered. A lock of wavy blonde hair fell in front of his face as he brought out a small bugle to his lips and blew on it.

In an instant the teenagers stood up, some cursing under their breath, some trying to get their clothes on. Eventually, they were all dressed up and standing in a straight line for the man to see. The man walked toward them, inspecting the people in front of him, which had consisted of 3 women and 7 men,

"All right," The man said. "I can see you all had a good night's sleep; right now it's time for us to get packing, we're heading off to the village of Alle."

Many of the teenagers moaned at the name, some were once again cursing under their breath.

"Ahem," the man said. "You aren't trying to disappoint me, right? Gangrel, ringmaster of the Dream Circus and the one who has raised you all?"

"No sir." The ten said simultaneously. Gangrel smiled at that.

"Good. Now get going, we need to head off in about an hour." He pulled out a small scroll and unraveled it, to reveal the names of all 10 teenagers. "Let's see: Maria and Mickie will be in charge of feeding the animals."

Maria and Mickie both squealed in delight when they heard their names.

"Jeff and Shannon are in charge of advertising."

Jeff and Shannon high-fived each other.

"John and Randy have the privilege in getting the tent down, while Ashley and Matt will work together on inventory." He then stared at the two wrestlers whose names have not been called on: Paul London and Brian Kendrick.

"That means we get grocery duty." Paul mumbled sarcastically. "Yay...."

"Let's get the carriage," Brian said as he dragged his partner out of the tent.

**0 0 0 0 0 0**

Jay and Adam had already returned into the city of Alle, both of them being covered in some old rags. They sneaked in without causing suspicion to the guards and soon made it into the heart of the village. There they saw a performer doing amazing acrobatics for the crowd, many of them tossing some coins to them.

"There must be around 5 or 6 melodi there!" Jay exclaimed. "We need that money..."

"Problem." Adam said, looking around them. "If we take off our disguises, they're going to find out that we're here. Besides, we can't just go out in the middle of the public and entertain them without the risk of having our covers blown!"

"So what are we going to do?" Jay asked. "Wait for a horse-drawn wooden cart to come to us?"

Suddenly, they heard the whinny of a horse coming towards them. Everyone gasped as a beautiful chestnut colored horse strapped to a wooden cart started running toward them; Jay and Adam were the only ones who have not moved, still looking back at the coins that glittered the ground.

"Darn it," Jay muttered under his breath. "Me and my big mouth."

"Worry about that later," said Adam, removing the rags. "We've got to stop that horse!"

Jay nodded as he ran toward the horse; as they were getting closer and closer, he jumped, and did a back flip in the air, landing right on top of the horse. He sat down on the saddle and pulled the reins as the horse was nearing Adam. With a tight pull the horse slowly came to a stop. The villagers were about to call the guards when they found Adam bring out an apple for the horse to eat. Jay's cloak and robe was soon seen fluttering down onto the dirt road.

"There you go," he said as he rubbed the nuzzle of the horse. "You must be hungry running around like that." The horse snorted at him as it licked him across the face.

Jay sighed as he got off the horse; seeing the leftover beats on the ground he started to pick them up and hide it in the small sack he was carrying. Unfortunately the guards immediately stopped him.

"That's as far as you two go!" One of them said, poking a spear at Jay's chest. "Try to pull the wool over our eyes too many times, eh? Well too bad! This time you're coming with us!"

"Hold it right there!"

Everyone turned around to see two caped strangers appear in front of them. One was covered in a black cape and boots, with a black mask covering his eyes, and a set of blonde hair gracing his face. The other had similar clothing but it was all white, and long black hair down to his shoulders.

"What is the meaning of this?" The one in black said. "All these two were doing were helping us out; our horse got a little out of control and could have caused some damage."

"No thanks to you," the white one muttered, getting a sharp jab in the ribs.

The black one turned to Jay and Adam. "You two, thank you for helping us out, you both have exceptional skills we could use; no one ever had the courage to actually charge at a wild horse, nor have we seen anyone tame her so quickly.

"Um, thanks?" said Adam, at a loss of words. Another guard picked him up by his hair. "Hey! Watch it!"

"This is a trick, isn't it?!" He yelled, pointing at the coins that were on the floor. "you did it for a couple of quick coins and steal it like the petty thieves you are!"

"Unlike you, at least we can do tricks." Adam muttered under his breath, only to get a response of his hair being pulled. "Ow...."

"I suggest you release those two right now." The one in white said. "Unless you want to take it up with our boss, Gangrel of the Dream Circus."

"The Dream Circus?!" Adam and Jay said simultaneously. The Dream Circus was the most famous performing group of all time; Gangrel himself was known to be a powerful leader and no one should never cross his path lest you want to suffer through a living hell. Adam and Jay have only seen one show, and have constantly imitated their techniques in getting supplies from the town.

"Yes, the Dream Circus." The black one repeated. He brought out a small bag of silver and copper coins and tossed it at the ground. "75 melodi and 20 beats; that should be enough to cover the damage, pay for some groceries and let us have the two boys, right?"

The guards looked down, and counted all of the coins; all 95 coins were in sight. "Very well," said the captain. "We can let this one slide. Now off you go."

The one in white clicked his teeth, and the chestnut horse soon turned away from the golden twins and walked up to the caped men. Jay and Adam ran up to the two, on their knees, bowing to them.

"Is it true?" Jay asked them. "Are you really from the Dream Circus?"

"Of course we are," said the one in white. "I'm known as Pierre the White Jester, but call me Paul."

"And I'm Biran the Black Jester," the one in black followed. "But I'm known as Brian."

"I'm Adam, and he's Jay." Adam replied. "We're both...thieves..."

"But you're also pretty athletic," Brian explained. "I've never seen such balance and athleticism in my life."

"You also have a way with animals," Paul added. "No one can tame Luna as you could Adam."

"And you shouldn't even be on the streets in the first place!" said Brian. "Come join us; we've got lots of food, a nice home, and more friends then you can find in this dump! What do you say?"

Jay and Adam looked back at them, then to each other, and then behind them at the village.

"Sign us up!" They both said.

**0 0 0 0 0 0**

One hour later, the four teenagers had arrived at the former campsite of the Dream Circus. John and Randy were already finished packing the tent as they saw London and Kendrick come up from the dirt road. Adam and Jay were currently hiding beneath the giant bundle of hay which also camouflaged their worldly possessions and money they collected.

"HEY!!!" John yelled, seeing Luna's figure approaching them.. "You finally made it!"

Brian gripped the reins as Luna stopped trotting toward them. Adam and Jay were trying their hardest to not reveal themselves, although it was getting harder to do since the hay was getting really itchy.

Paul stepped down from the cart and brought out the groceries. "Here you go!" He said, a big grin on his face. "Groceries to last us about 2 weeks!"

"You sure that's the only thing you two guys bought?" said Randy, noticing the money bag around Paul's waist had deflated a bit. "You look like you treated yourselves to something."

"Uh..." said Brian, turning around to the giant haystack behind him then looked back at John and Randy. "What do you mean by that?"

Suddenly, the four heard a small sneeze coming from the haystack.

"What was that?" asked Randy.

"What do you mean 'What was that?'" asked Paul, sweat starting to form and fall down his face. "I didn't hear anything."

Then another sneeze came from the haystack; another one came in until a loud sneeze appeared, blowing away at least half of the hay off the cart, and let it shower over the perimeter. Jay sniffled a bit as he blew his nose on a handkerchief.

"Gesundheit." said Adam, patting his brother on the back. He then noticed four pairs of eyes staring at him. "Aw, crap."

John looked at the two jesters. "What happened at the village?"

Luna snorted a bit as Adam got down from the card; he held another apple in front of her as she started to eat it. Both John and Randy were shocked to see Luna acting so docile in front of them; whenever either of them try to do that, they almost get kicked in the face by the horseshoes she was wearing.

"There, there." said Adam, scratching behind the horse's ear. "I'm not going to leave, Jay and I are going to stay here...at least I hope we are..."

Jay got down, bringing in a small wooden trunk to the ground with an "oomph". "Hi there," He said to the two new faces in front of him. "I'm Jay and the one feeding your horse is Adam; we stopped her from going on a rampage across town."

"You're kidding me right?" Jay shook his head to reply to John's answer.

"That's what we thought to," said Brian, removing his mask to reveal his bright blue eyes. "These two have some talent; maybe we can use that talent for tonight's act."

"Maybe..." said Randy. "Oh yeah, we haven't properly introduced. I'm Randy, and the one next to me is John."

Adam turned to see Jay shaking John and Randy's hands and immediately joined in. "Don't forget about me," he said with a small smirk. "After all, I'm the one with the brains of the twin brothers."

"Yeah," Jay muttered under his breath. "Brains the consistency of oatmeal."

Adam began to grind his knuckles into his brother's hair while the members of the Dream Circus watching them just laughed.

**0 0 0 0 0 0**

"Man, am I beat." said Mickie, sitting down on a wooden crate near the "stable". "We've already groomed and fed all of the horses..."

"And we got all of their saddles, their reins, and their horseshoes cleaned." Maria finished, collapsing onto the grass. "If I see another horse today, I am going to scream."

As she stared into the beautiful blue sky, a black shadow covered it up; something started to nudge her awake while she looked up to see a horse face in front of her.

"Oh no," She groaned as she laid her head down. "I must be so exhausted that I think I'm seeing things!"

"Calm down, Aria." said Mickie, standing up. "It's just Luna, and apparently she has company!"

Maria immediately stood up, seeing Adam and Jay riding on the chestnut beauty. "Who are you and what gave you the right to ride on Luna?" She asked them.

"I guess she did," Adam said, patting Luna's side. "I'm Adam, and the cuter one is Jay; we were just heading off to meet your ringmaster, Gangrel. You know where he is?"

"I think he's with Matt and Ashley getting the inventory counted." said Mickie, pointing to her right. "It's down that way, take a left at the pile of stuff and you'll see them.

"Thanks!" Jay said smiling, before his smile turned to surprise when he heard Luna snort at them. "Oh, and Luna needs to be cleaned up; she caused a ruckus in town."

"Not another horse!" Maria whined. "I'm too tired to clean her up. Can you do it, Mickie?"

"I'm not doing it unless you do it!" Mickie snapped. "We're supposed to do it together; remember the time when Jeff tried to clean the horses by himself?"

Maria laughed a bit at the memory; poor Jeff unfortunately tried to ride Luna, only to fall flat on his face and getting horse spit all over his hair.

"Please?" said Jay, looking at them with his blue eyes. "Luna needs a bath and Adam and I helped her out. Can't you do us a little favor?" He stuck out his lower lip as it started to quiver a bit, making him resemble a lost puppy. "Please? For me?"

"Oh, come on." said Mickie, walking up to the younger twin. "What makes you think that...that..." As she stared into Christian's eyes, she couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for him. She hesitated as she stared into his eyes for a while; nothing was spoken as the words immediately fell from the woman's throat.

"Sure!" She said with a cheery smile on her face. "We'll help you out!"

Christian smiled at her. "Thanks!"

Maria stood flabbergasted as she looked up at her friend. "Are you crazy?" She said to her, turning Mickie around so they stared eye to eye. "They're strangers; I don't care if they do have talent, but it's still not a good idea..."

"Oh, don't be such a sour puss." Mickie giggled, a soft blue glow seen in her eyes. "Those two went through all the trouble in helping us out; it's the least we could do..."

"But..." Maria didn't finish her sentence as she was dragged by her best friend back towards the stables.

Adam looked at Jay. "What's wrong with them?"

Jay shrugged his shoulders. "Guess they finally realized how cute I was."

Adam threw an apple core at his brother.

**0 0 0 0 0 0**

Matt had finally finished folding the costumes away in the trunk when he heard a thud. "Oh no..."

He turned around seeing Ashley had tripped over a twig while she was carrying some of the props in a wooden crate. He ran up to her, slowly helping her stand up.

"You alright?" said Matt. He then noticed all of the props that have been scattered on the floor: silk handkerchiefs, a top hat, a couple of juggling balls and clubs, two feather boas, and masks. "Never mind I said that..."

"We need help." said Ashley, rubbing her back. "I can barely see where I'm going if this stupid crate is in front of my face. It's not fair you get to check out all of the costumes and put it away; I'm doing a man's job and you're not."

"Well, you lost the coin toss." Matt said showing a clefa in his hand. In its face was the Treble Clef. "I called Treble and I won, so I choose what I was doing."

"What you're doing is flapping your gums, Mattie." Matt turned around to see Adam smirking at him while Jay stood by his brother's side. "What's wrong, Mattie? You're not going to be a man and be a man's job?"

"And who asked you how I should do my work?" Matt snarled. "And who are you in the first place?"

"We are Adam and Jay," said Adam with a smirk on his face. "And we, Adam and Jay are going to get your boss's permission to be part of the Dream Circus."

Ashley rolled her eyes and massaged her temples. "Just what we need," she muttered. "More boys."

Adam noticed all of items that were on the ground. "Well, excuse me." He said. "I should help with the mess here."

"I know what you can do!" said Jay, seeing all of the juggling balls in front of them. "Do that routine you made up!"

"Shh!" Adam said, immediately clamping a hand in front of his brother's mouth. "No one must not know about that!" He hissed.

"Oh come on," said Jay, picking up two juggling balls. "You haven't exactly shown any talent since we've got here, don't forget I was the one who jumped onto Luna's back and stopped her from attacking you, all you did was give her apples."

Adam was about to say something, but stopped. He then sighed as he picked up the juggling balls. "All right, but if this doesn't let us go to the Dream Circus, this was your idea."

He took a deep breath staring at the two rubber balls; he then raised one in the air and suddenly did a back flip, tossing the other ball into the air also. Ashley and Matt gasped as Adam was able to catch both of the balls as he landed on his feet with ease. Nothing was said during that time, although there was the presence of a soft rumbling sound coming from the older blonde. Suddenly, a soft mew came from some bushes as a small kitten ran to Adam, rubbing its face against his leg.

Adam looked down, smiling at the small creature. It had golden fur and brown stripes, to resemble a tiger; the most important feature it had were its grey eyes that were piercing right into Adam's blue ones.

"Oh, hey there." The cat meowed in response. "I didn't expect you to follow me out here. But now that you're here..." He showed the cat the ball in his hand. "See the ball? Go fetch!"

He hurled the ball, and as quick as lightning, the cat zipped toward it catching the ball in its teeth. It then did a somersault and walked toward Adam once more, laying the ball in front of its teeth. It gave a soft mew once more as Ashley and Matt stared in disbelief.

"That's impossible," Matt whispered.

"I know," said Jay, smirking. "Cats aren't the easiest creatures to train, but Adam has a gift known as the--"

"Now, that's not it!" Ashley interrupted, staring at the cat. "That's a felus! Those are hard to find!"

"A what?" asked Jay.

"A felus is part of a rare breed of animals known as the 'Anima'," a voice said from behind. "The felus is a very rare Anima, because it usually hates to be treated as a pet. But, for those lucky people, if they are able to get the respect of a felus, then they will remain their partner until death do them part."

Adam nearly dropped the other juggling ball as he saw the person who spoke. It was a man around his late 20's with long wavy blonde hair down his shoulders and grey eyes. He was wearing a white gentleman's blouse and black pants which covered the black boots he was wearing. A silver cross earring was pierced on his left ear as he revealed a pair of fangs hidden in his teeth. In his hands was a small glass sphere with many clouds floating around inside.

"So," the man said, staring at Adam and Jay. "These are the two thieves that Paul and Brian have been talking about huh?"

"Wow," said Jay. "News travels fast."

"If you consider 'fast' at Mickie's pace," the man muttered looking at Jay. "She said something about not wanting to be rude on helping a sweet boy in helping Luna and she immediately went to work. I suppose you are the one, right Adam?"

"I'm Adam," Adam pointed to himself as the felus jumped into his arms. "The one this Mickie talked to was my brother Jay. And you must be Gangrel, the ringleader of the Dream Circus."

"At your service," Gangrel bowed at them. "Especially to your pet felus. Have you named it yet?"

"I call her Stryker," said Adam while Stryker started to purr once more.

"It's a girl?" Jay said in shock. "I thought it was a guy!"

"I can just tell it's a girl," said Adam. "I called her Stryker because she's fast as lightning, and also because of her stripes."

Ashley walked up to Adam, looking closer at Stryker's tiger stripes. "You're right," she said. "They look like lightning bolts."

Stryker licked her face at that comment, causing Ashley to laugh a bit.

"And she's so cute!" said Ashley, scratching one of Stryker's ears.

Adam looked at Gangrel, trying his hardest to not to laugh because of Stryker's fur tickling his nose. "Um," he stared off. "We wanted to know if Jay and I can be part of the Dream Circus. We have no home, but if you need someone to help do chores like get groceries or gets some money for you..."

He stopped there as he saw Gangrel rubbing his chin in thought. Matt was about to say something but stopped short when he saw Gangrel's grey eyes star at him at that moment. Minutes passed, Jay was starting to get nervous, and even Stryker could sense the tension in the air. Finally, Gangrel spoke.

"I accept your offer," he said, unraveling a scroll in front of the twins. "Just sign your name and it'll be done.

"Are you crazy?!" Matt yelled at the ringleader. "You can't just let them sign their names into the Dream Circus."

Gangrel looked at him for a minute, then back at the scroll. "You're absolutely right." He snapped his fingers and a feathery quill and a bottle of ink appeared floating in mid-air. "It's impossible to sign the scroll without a quill and some ink."

Jay looked in awe. "Wow...that's some awesome magic. I'm in!" He immediately dipped the quill in some ink and scribbled his name down.

Adam smiled as he also wrote his name also. "Don't forget me!"

Stryker mewed as she placed her paw on the top of the ink bottle, then placed her paw on the paper, a smeary paw print stood between near the twins' names.

Gangrel grinned as he rolled the scroll back to position, then snapped his fingers once more to make the quill and ink disappear.

"Welcome, to our little family." He said to Adam and Jay. Matt just stood flabbergasted, Ashley was smiling from ear to ear and both twins gave each other high-fives.

Just then, Jeff and Shannon had finally returned from passing out posters. They looked at Adam and Jay then at Gangrel.

"What did we miss?" asked Shannon.

**0 0 0 0 0 0**

_Well, that's all for now!_

_I'll put up some general facts about my story in the next chapter!_

_Until then, please read and review._


	2. Auriga, The Charioteer

_Well, here we are! We're already onto chapter 2 and it's time to get the show on the road!_

_And if people don't know about what's going on, here's the gist of it. The chapters are all based on the name of a different constellation, and the world itself is based on music. Examples are:_

_Currency: Beats are based on the beats of a note in music, Melodi is based on melodies and Clefas are based on the Clefs with Treble being Heads and Bass being Tails._

_Alle is based on the term Allegro, which is "running speed"._

_Oh and for those who want to know ages, here's what they are:_

_**Adam and Jay-16**_

_**Jeff-16**_

_**Matt-19**_

_**Ashley-17**_

_**Paul-18**_

_**Brian-18**_

_**Shannon-15**_

_**John-19**_

_**Randy-16**_

_**Maria-16**_

_**Mickie-16**_

_**Gangrel-25**_

_More will be revealed on the way so let's start!_

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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**Masquerade in the Night**

**by Green Phantom Queen**

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**Chapter 2-Auriga, The Charioteer**

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Adam and Jay gasped in awe as they were shown a performance of the Dream Circus. It was more amazing than they ever imagined.

There were London and Kendrick who did an amazing jestering act that made them unable to stop laughing for a while. There was Matt and Jeff who spit fire, swallowed it and even danced with it. John was an aerial silk performer, gracefully sliding down the long curtain of silk and climbing up like a yo-yo. Ashley, Maria and Mickie did an excellent gypsy dance that nearly mesmerized them while Shannon nearly made them gasp with his Venom dance with his pet snake. Finally, Randy amazed them as he summoned spirits to aid in his mystical act.

All in all, they were impressed. But there was still one thing swarming in their heads: what would they do?

Stryker nudged a couple of juggling balls toward Jay, mewing at the twins. A thought came into the younger twin's mind.

"I think I got something." He said as he lifted the balls into the air; he started to juggle, while Adam added two more balls into the mix. Jay could just feel something inside him bubble up as he started to twirl his body around like a graceful dancer,swinging his hips into a strand of invisible music. He lost himself in his thoughts, only focused on his dancing and juggling to notice anything else. Until...

"LOOK OUT! One of the animals got loose!"

Jay turned around, losing his concentration as the juggling balls hit his head and the ground. He gulped as he and Adam saw an animal that looked similar to a lioness, except it had wings and white fur.

"A SPHINX?!" Adam cried out. "You've got to be kidding me!"

The sphinx charged up at the two boys and the felus who immediately started to run from it. They tried running in a zig-zag pattern in order to confuse it, they tried throwing some twigs and stones but it didn't even phase it. Adam stopped, seeing a lone whip near his feet. Picking it up, he turned around to face the monster.

"What are you doing?!" Jay cried out, holding Stryker in his arms. "You're going to get yourself killed!"

"It's worth the risk!" Adam cried, cracking the whip as the sphinx was about to pounce on him. "Down! On your knees!" He cried out.

The sphinx stopped inches in front of Adam's face and sat there, waiting for its next command. Jay stood in shock as he saw how tame the creature was. "Wha....?" He said in surprise.

"Good girl," said Adam, scratching one of the sphinx's ears. "Now tell me what's going on."

The sphinx looked at Adam sadly then showed its paw to him; a sharp thorn was stuck there in the tissue of the paw and it looked very painful.

"I get it," said Adam. "You must've stepped on a thorn and it pierced your paw so badly that you went on a rampage." He smiled at the animal as he pulled out a handkerchief. "Now hold still for a minute, this might hurt."

The sphinx hissed in pain as Adam gripped onto the thorn with the handkerchief until it was completely removed from its paw. It then felt the same handkerchief wrap around the paw, acting like a bandage.

"There you go," said Adam, petting the sphinx's head. "Now just let that paw rest for a couple of days or a week and you'll be back on your feet, okay?"

The sphinx purred as it immediately laid down in front of him, its wings fluffing against the older twin's nose.

"Hey!" a voice cried. Adam and Jay saw Matt and Jeff running toward them. Matt glared a bit at Adam while Jeff gave them a big smile.

"So that's where she went," said Jeff as he approached the sphinx. "Sorry about that, I tried training Terrah for tonight's act but she accidentally stepped on a thorn and...you get the point."

"That's okay," said Adam. "Terrah seems fine now." Terrah continued to purr as Stryker immediately lept out of Jay's arms and landed in front of Matt and Jeff.

"So you must be Jeff," pointing to the younger blonde boy who had black and red streaks in his hair. "When I first heard of you, I thought you were a girl because you look like one."

"Hey!" Matt said, stepping up to Jay. "Don't you _**ever**_ call my brother a girl!"

Stryker snarled as Matt came up to Jay and immediately bit him on the leg. Matt could only scream in pain as he tried to shake the felus off, only to find out that Stryker was continuing to bite deeper and deeper into the skin.

"Down girl!" Adam cried, whip still in his hand. "Get off of him now!" He cracked the whip, causing Stryker to release her grip upon Matt's shin. Matt fell to the ground hissing pain as he saw the wound starting to bleed badly.

"That's a bad puncture wound," Jay said kneeling down to place pressure upon it. "Let me see..."

Jeff sat down to help comfort his brother, but he noticed something about Jay's hands. They seemed to be glowing in a soft blue light as the wound started to disappear. The glowing stopped as Jay stood up.

"It looks fine," Jay said innocently. "Just put some ice on it, give it elevation and some rest and you'll be on your feet, eating fire like there's no tomorrow!"

Adam's stomach started to growl; it was good timing as he heard a small gong being heard not that far away from them. "Lunch is ready," he said. "Let's go."

As the twins and the animals soon followed to the site of the meal, Matt and Jeff just stayed there in thought.

"Something's not right about those two," said Matt. "It's like they're not even human. How could a single human tame someone as dangerous as Terrah? Even John had problems."

"And I saw Jay heal your wound by just pressing on it." Jeff added. "We need to keep a close eye on those two."

"Yeah," said Matt. He stood up, hearing his stomach growl. "But first, it's time for lunch."

**0 0 0 0 0 0**

Lunch was a time for everyone at the circus to relax. It was a splendid feast for Adam and Jay; they had seconds and thirds on most of the food that was there. Ashley was chatting away with Maria and Mickie, John and Randy were currently in an arm wrestling contest while Shannon just ate silently. London and Kendrick were finished eating, and were practicing a new routine for tonight.

Matt and Jeff sat in a corner, observing Adam and Jay very attentively, waiting for something to happen. Terrah was already lazing around with another sphinx—whom the other circus performers called Ven—who had black fur and wings and Stryker was snoozing around on Adam's lap.

"I don't see anything wrong with them, Mattie." said Jeff. "They seem fine."

"They act fine, but that doesn't mean they are fine." Matt replied."A sphinx can't be tamed that easily, and my wound didn't heal by itself. So there has to be something about these two that caught Gangrel's attention."

By the time lunch was done, Gangrel came up to Adam and Christian with a small wooden chest. He grinned at them as they were looking at it curiously.

"Open it up," he said. "If you're going to stay at the circus, you'll need some clothes to perform in."

Adam and Jay gasped as they opened the wooden chest, opening it to see some new clothes for them. They cheered for joy as they started to dig through them.

"Now choose wisely," the ringmaster said. "You are responsible are taking care of these clothes; these clothes represent who you are and the names in which you are to present yourselves in when the curtain opens. Think of some names and choose your costumes, and meet up with everyone in about an hour. Oh, and don't forget to practice for tonight's act."

As Gangrel went off, Adam immediately pulled out a black coat while Jay found himself a white robe. Stryker immediately dove in and found herself a small collar encrusted with a topaz gem on it.

"Isn't this great?" said Jay, trying on his new outfit. "I'm starting to get used to being in this circus."

"So am I." Adam said, placing a silk top hat on his head. "And as long as we're here, I'm sure nothing bad will happen."

**0 0 0 0 0 0**

In a town known as Presta—which was about half a day's distance from Alle—chaos was running about.

Villagers screamed as a monster started to ravage amongst the village. It was about ten feet tall, with brown fur covering its body and pointed teeth having saliva dribbling down its chin. Its emerald green eyes stared at the rampage it had caused; raising a watermelon sized hand it immediately sliced down the fruit and vegetable stands in the market place. It let out a loud howl as it stomped toward a young child who had tripped upon a rock.

"Please don't eat me!" The child whimpered as the monster started to sniff him. Saliva fell down onto the child's clothes as it tried to scurry away. The monster gave out a wicked grin as it opened its mouth to swallow the child whole. The child turned away and screamed as something whizzed through the air.

A crossbow bolt pierced into the chest of the beast, black blood was pouring out like a fountain as it collapsed onto the cobblestone ground. The child shakily stood up as he saw a shadowy figure in front of him.

"Are you all right, young one?" The child nodded. It was then he saw a better look of the hero: he was wearing a long black cloak and was wielding a crossbow in his right hand. The man didn't have a shirt on, but the kid could see a sun tattoo circling his belly button. Black pants draped his muscular legs and he wore regular black boots. He wore a belt that had many different compartments as he pulled out another crossbow bolt from one them. The kid noticed it was a red color as the man placed it into the crossbow.

"My last bolt only stunned him," The man replied as the monster started to stand up once more. "But this fire bolt is going to make sure that this monster will no longer hurt anyone again."

He pulled the trigger and in an instant, the monster was incinerated in a huge bonfire. The child could only gasp in horror as he felt the sound of flesh and bone crackling away into nothing. In an instant, there was nothing more than ashes and melted metal which was the remains of the monster and the weapons.

A young woman immediately ran up to her child and hugged him, tears streaming out of her eyes as she hugged him tighter. She looked up at the stranger with tears still falling down.

"Thank you so much," She said. "If it wasn't for you, my son would have been killed. If there is anything you need, don't hesitate to ask."

"I just want to know the location of this person." He handed out a piece of paper to the woman; she gasped at seeing the image.

"I know that face!" She said. "He performs in a circus, that same circus came about a month ago. I heard they were going to Alle tonight."

"Tonight?" The man stood there in thought for a moment then placed the scroll away. He whistled, and in an instant a black horse immediately galloped amongst the cobblestones. It stopped near the man as the horse gently nuzzled against its master's face. The man smiled softly as he mounted on the horse.

"I must head off," He said pulling out three coins. "Take these." He handed them to the woman.

"Let's go, Khan." He said to the horse, as he galloped away. The woman was about to say something when she saw something peculiar on the man's back...

There was a design of a dragon that was emblazed on it.

**0 0 0 0 0 0**

Gangrel was packing the cart with some supplies when he heard Adam and Jay come rushing toward him. He at first blinked when he saw the two boys, not able to comprehend what he was seeing.

First was Adam, he was wearing black pants and shoes, and a black coat to reveal his developing muscles. He had a silk top hat on top of his head, and a sun painted on his right shoulder. He had a golden ankh necklace adorned around his neck and a black domino mask—which had red gems and black feathers decorating it—was in front of his eyes. Amongst the white gloves he wore on his hands, he carried a black whip in them. What was also interesting was that he had the letters "VII" written on the middle of his forehead in red paint.

Then there was Jay who was wearing a beautiful white cloak that went down to his feet. He was wearing a pair of white pants that had one half of the yin-yang sign on each leg and white satin slippers. His long blonde hair was placed in a ponytail and he had a Carnival mask painted white with silver wisps of paint decorating his eyes and cheeks. A small cross necklace was worn around his neck and in his hands were two juggling clubs.

Then there was the felus Stryker; she was wearing a gold collar with a topaz encrusted on it, a small tri-cornered hat with a red feather on it and a small mask to cover her eyes. She let out a small mew.

"My, my." said Gangrel staring at them. "You two have already decided on your costume, but what about your names?"

"I am Chruso!" said Jay, through his mask. "It sounded like a brave adventurer who risks his body for the sake of his art."

"I am known as Erias!" said Adam. "It sounded like a name of chaos and power."

Stryker mewed as if she was trying to say a name.

Gangrel chuckled as he saw the two newest members of the circus. "I can't say I'm impressed, but even with your outfits and identities, you need an act for tonight's show. What do you have?"

"Um," said Jay, looking away. "I'm doing a whole juggling routine...but I noticed that Sphere you had in your hands. Isn't that a Cloudy Sphere?"

"A what?" said Adam, confusion on his face.

"A Sphere," said Jay. "Is a magical ornament in the shape of a large glass orb, that can contain different powerful properties; depending on what type of Sphere you want, the price ranges from around 2 melodi to about 50 clefas. The Spheres can only be used one time, so you need to stock on a couple of them on hand. This Cloudy Sphere releases bunches of clouds around the area."

"You seem well educated about the topic of Spheres." said Gangrel.

"Thanks!" said Jay. "I kept a couple of them from when Adam and I were thieves. I have at least 3 of them: a Sunny Sphere, a Rainy Sphere, and a Starry Sphere."

"Interesting," said Gangrel, picking up the Cloudy Sphere in his hand. He tossed it to Christian who caught it. "Keep it, I want to see what you can create." He then turned to Adam. "And what about you?"

"I was thinking about doing something based on this." said Adam. He pulled out a deck of cards and showed a card in front of Gangrel. It resembled a young prince sitting in a chariot, riding amongst two sphinxes with one being black and the other white. In his hand was a sword and he had a winged helmet on top of his head.

"So, you are into divination?" said Gangrel, noticing the similarities between the card and Adam.

"Yeah," said Adam. "Our mom was a fortune teller; before she died she left me her divination stuff and I sort of fiddled around with it."

"Adam wanted to become the Major Arcana card, the Chariot!" Jay explained. "They say 7 is a lucky number and the Chariot is the 7th card in the Major Arcana. He saw the two sphinxes, pulled out his cards and BOOM! Instant idea!"

"Since Matt and Jeff do a ring of fire act, I want to go after them." Adam continued. "So you need to bring in these flaming hoops so I can bring in Terrah and Ven strapped into the wooden cart and we go through them."

"But what happens if the animals get singed by fire?" Gangrel asked, trying to picture the scene in his head. "If the wings of a sphinx get burned, their spirit becomes broken that they would rather die then try to live."

"Don't worry, those two will be fine. I have a way with animals."

Unbeknown to the three, Matt, Jeff and Shannon were eavesdropping on them.

"I can't believe this!" Matt hissed. "That little bastard is sucking up to him! Does he know how long it took for the three of us to even tame Terrah? For all the time we've been here, we've only gain some respect and he's got her like she was his pet!"

"A sphinx is not like the snakes I train," Shannon muttered. "Because you can easily charm snakes, but it takes years to charm a sphinx."

"And not a lot of people can get their hands on both a Sunny AND a Starry Sphere." Jeff added. "These guys are pretty good."

"Looks like we're going to keep an eye on them from now on." said Matt, heading off to the others.

**0 0 0 0 0 0**

The man raced down the grassy fields, trying his hardest to get to the city of Alle. He closed his eyes as memories of a monster slaughtered his wife and daughter and he could not do anything to save them. He snarled as he continued to ride faster and faster to reach the city before sundown.

He was going to have his revenge; he was going to taste it as he saw that monster be killed by his own hands.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 **

It was around 4 in the afternoon when the Dream Circus started to prepare the circus tent for the evening; in about another 4 hours, they would be performing.

John and Randy immediately placed the tent posts in position, and were already working on the tarp of the tent when John collapsed onto the ground.

"No..." He whispered. "Not again...not again..."

"John?" Randy asked, kneeling down near his friend. "What's going on?"

"It's coming out...it's coming out...get away...just go away..."

"What's coming out?!" Randy asked, sweat pouring down his forehead.

John's whole body started to quake as his own sweat mixed with his tears as he tried to stand up. "No...no...no!!! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT!!!"

In that moment, Randy could only stare in shock as John's eyes snapped open as he immediately fell to the ground.

"Oh my god..."

That was the only thing Randy could say before he ran off.

**0 0 0 0 0 0**

Ashley did a back flip, then another, then another until she immediately stood up, bowing to Maria and Mickie.

"How was that?" She asked the two. Both Maria and Mickie gave her a thumbs-up. Ashley could only smile as she sat down on a sack of hay. It was at that moment Randy immediately found them, panting for breath.

"What's going on?" said Mickie, seeing him ragged. "What happened?"

"John...collapsed...crazy...possessed...need...to go...now!" Randy was able to wheeze out.

"Something's wrong with John?" said Maria in shock. "I hope he's okay."

"We better make sure he is." said Ashley. "Let's go."

The four eventually made it back to the tent, and opened the flap to see John working on setting up the hoops for Adam's act for tonight.

"Huh?" the three divas said in confusion.

John looked them, giving them all a smile each as he said, "Why are you just staring and looking as if I died or something? We need to get the tent fixed."

"But...you were...and I...and you..." Randy just sighed in defeat as he picked up a coil of rope and went to tie some of the posts together.

Ashley just stared back at John who was whistling away. "Do you think Randy was joking around?"

Mickie shook her head. "I doubt it; it takes a lot for Randy to really get freaked out, and you know how much he cares for John. It's because they're similar....

"In what way?" asked Maria. "They're the only two who we don't know anything about—actually all we know about Randy is that he is some sort of necromancer, but still ever since John joined up 2 years ago he's never told us about his past.

"Something fishy is going around here..." said Ashley as she continued to observe John. "Something _**very**_ fishy..."

**0 0 0 0 0 0**

It was already 9 in the evening when everyone in the audience applauded for Ashley's trapeze act. As she was walking off, Matt and Jeff appeared dressed in black shirts and tights decorated in flames. Jeff even went as far as decorating his whole face as if he was wearing a bonfire mask.

Matt tossed a fire baton in to the air as he immediately did a cartwheel and caught the baton as he got on his feet. Jeff followed that up by twirling the two batons he had in his hands, then twisted his body around like he was a dancer. The audience gasped as they saw Matt eat the flames off of his baton then it changed to awe as they saw him breathe that very same fire.

"This is getting good," said Jay from backstage. "If I did something like that, then I'd panic and accidentally use my Rainy Sphere to douse the flames."

"Easy for you to say," said Adam, adjusting his mask in a mirror. "You're not the one who gets to play with fire; I am and if I screw this up then it's bye-bye us!"

"You're not going to screw this up," said Jay as he observed Matt and Jeff finishing their performance. "Now go out there and show the world who you are!"

Adam smiled as he mounted the cart. "Let's go."

Matt and Jeff bowed to the applause that was given to them when the metal hoops surrounding the arena started to become emblazed with fire. Matt and Jeff turned around to see Adam in his Chariot get-up already riding the cart through the first hoop.

"What in the---?!" Was all Matt could say before they ducked as to avoid being trampled.

"Looks like it's curtains for us!" Said Jeff as the two brothers immediately exited stage left.

Adam guided Terrah and Ven through the next hoop, cracking the whip to help them up. The people in the audience started to wonder who was this strange performer who was able to control the sphinxes with ease.

"That's it you two," Adam said. "We're almost done!"

Randy and John were looking with Jay as they saw Adam finish his ring of fire and present himself to the crowd. People were already throwing him a couple of beats and melodi—they thought they saw at least 2 clefas in the mix—as Matt started to fume a bit.

"That's it," Matt muttered under his breath. "I'm going to kill him and pierce something sharp right through that man's heart before he causes more trouble."

"That's my job, kid."

The five turned around to see a figure point a crossbow at them. Sweat poured down their faces at the grim look on the person's face.

"Now hold still; I'm only here to avenge my family's death by killing one of you."

He pulled the trigger.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 **

_Who's the mysterious figure? _

_Who is he going to kill? _

_Why did John snap like that? _

_And why does Matt hate Adam so much?_

_The answers of these will come in the next chapter!_

_Until then read and review!_


	3. Sagittarius, The Archer

_Well, now that the cliffhanger is out of the way! Let's start with the next chapter of the story!_

_And if anyone does not understand Presta, Presta is based on presto a very fast tempo in music. _

_Aside from that, let's start!_

_ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ __

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

**Masquerade in the Night**

**by Green Phantom Queen**

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

**Chapter 3-Sagittarius, The Archer**

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

**0 0 0 0 0 0**

The man pulled the trigger of his crossbow, aiming it at one of the young boys.

Suddenly, he was blinded by a bright light. He shielded his eyes as he heard the sounds of scuffling ring in his ears. When the light vanished, he opened his eyes to find his prey had vanished.

"Damn it!" He whispered to himself, seeing the remains of a Sphere that had been used. That's when he noticed the foot prints of the person he was searching for; there were 5 slashes in front of the toes...

He walked off, trying to see if he could find the person's scent before it was too late.

**0 0 0 0 0 0**

The five boys panted for breath as they hid amongst the alleyways of the houses near the tent. Jeff immediately high-fived Jay and gave him a tight hug.

"Thank you so much!" He said. "That Sunny Sphere you had was awesome! If there's anything you want in return, don't hesitate to ask."

"I want three things," said Jay. "One, I want a brand new Sunny Sphere and a Song Sphere. Two, I want one of you to give any info about that guy who was after us. And three, I want you off of me Jeff! I mean it; I'm up after John's aerial silk act and I can't afford to miss my debut thanks to you!"

Jeff released his hug and stepped back. "Hehe...oops."

Matt pulled out something in his pocket and tossed it to Jay. Jay noticed that it was a glass orb that had music notes swirling around it. "With the money your brother got you can get your goddamn Sunny Sphere." Matt muttered.

Jay looked at Randy and John who had not said anything since they escaped. "What's wrong with you guys?"

"It's nothing," said Randy, looking at the full moon. It was shining like a silver melodi and the stars glittering it just added to its radiance.

"Leonrad must be working hard for the stars to be shining tonight," Jay murmured. "He flies on black wings and in his sack of powder showers the evening sky with light so people can find their way home in darkness."

John looked up at the glittering moon, almost being transfixed by it...something was about it was so beautiful....

Suddenly he screamed, rolling himself into a ball and rocking back and forth. "No...not again...don't attack again..."

"What's going on?" said Jay seeing John act like that. "Is he sick? Is he possessed?"

"He's definitely possessed." A voice said from behind. "Possessed by the monster that killed my family!"

The four teenagers turned around to see the same hunter point his crossbow at John. He pulled the trigger...

When John immediately leaped onto him. His whole appearance had changed: silver fur replaced his flesh, claws grew from his finger and toe nails and his whole face became more wolf-like. He tackled the man down onto the ground, snarling at him and saliva fell down onto the man's body.

"What the heck is going on?" said Jay. "John's a werewolf?"

"I don't know what to believe at this point." said Randy. "But whatever this is, we have to do something before one of them gets killed!"

"What can we do?" Matt exclaimed. "If Jeff or I try twirling a baton at them, we'll get killed; if either of us light one on fire and then twirl it then they get killed!"

"I need time to channel spirits and by then we'll be ribbons." said Randy, trying to read from a book he carried.

"Then what about you?" Jay turned around to see Matt looking at him. "Well, what can _**you**_ do?"

"Aside from juggle, I have no other powers." said Jay. "I don't understand what you..."

"Shut up!" Matt snapped at him. "You have powers; I saw you heal my wound and look..." He pulled up a pant leg and showed where the wound was supposed to be; instead there was nothing on there, not even a scar.

"Um..." said Jay. "I honestly don't know..."

"Oh and I suppose your brother's ability to tame two sphinxes AND being able to get them through flaming hoops is normal?!" Matt said sarcastically. "Just go out there and do some magic before ALL of us die!"

Jay gulped as he saw the wolf and man struggle. He brought out his hands and said, "I don't know..."

"JUST GO!!!" Matt gave him a push as Jay got into the scuffle. The wolf looked at Jay with its glowing yellow eyes and immediately started to attack him, its claws ready to shred right through his flesh.

Jay looked at the ground, seeing the Song Sphere he obtained roll across the ground. "Only one chance..." He muttered.

Closing his eyes, he grabbed the Sphere. The wolf opened its mouth as if trying to eat him, when Jay's eyes opened and he immediately placed the Sphere inside the wolf's mouth!

"Is he crazy?!" Randy yelled. "Doing that is going delay the inevitable for him!"

"Take a closer look, kid." The hunter said, showing the Sphere was starting to crack. "This might be our saving grace."

The wolf's teeth eventually shattered the Sphere, causing a strand of music to fill the night; it was as if the winds were whistling a tune of sadness. The wolf's eyes started to glaze over as he yawned; he then fell asleep as the last note of the song vanished into the evening.

Jay then looked down at the broken Song Sphere. "I want a Shifty Sphere next." He said to no one in particular.

"WHAT?!" Matt screamed at him. "Don't just start to command on what you want; a single Shifty Sphere costs around 30 Clefas! Do you know how much stuff we can buy with that much money?!"

Jay was about to answer that when he found a sack of coins fall to his feet. He saw the hunter put away his crossbow and picked up the wolf with one hand.

"40 clefas." The man simply said. "Keep the change."

As the hunter was about to leave, he stopped. "You, young one," he stated. "I never found anyone able to deduce the wolf's hiding place so quickly...you somehow sensed this wolf's memories and concentrated those thoughts into the Song Sphere. Then the song that was released helped calm it down until it was able to sleep...There is something to you that this world does not know of yet."

"But I don't even know your name," said Jay. "And why do you want John?"

The man stared at him, those brown eyes of them staring as if he was a mighty predator. "My name is Dave Batista, and this 'John' killed my family 2 years ago. I came to take what is rightfully mine..."

"His death..."

**0 0 0 0 0 0**

Maria was looking at the audience when Mickie arrived. "Did the guys arrive yet?" asked Maria.

Mickie nodded her head. "Not yet, and John's up after Shannon's act. They better get here...."

Suddenly they found the rest of the circus running up to them, but they were no longer alone. They found a lone figure with black pants, boots and wielding a crossbow in his hands. On his shoulders was a silver wolf.

"Um, who are you?" Maria said nervously. "And where's John?"

"My name is Dave Batista, the monster slayer." The man said. "And this..." He motioned to the wolf asleep on his shoulder. "Is your friend."

"So let me get this straight," said Mickie. "John was a wolf in men's clothing...eww....."

"He was a wolf, period." Batista said in a serious tone. "The same wolf that killed my family in front of my own eyes..." He placed John down onto the floor, the wolf boy seemed oblivious to what had happened. "Two years...two years...he killed them that long ago..."

"Two years?" Maria said, counting her fingers. "That's about the same time he came to us!"

"And that's when I figured out something..."

Everyone turned to see Gangrel walk up to them. His eyes were covered with a golden mask that only helped in bringing out his pale complexion.

"I didn't want to cause any suspicion about John's past." Gangrel explained. "But I did not know what was going on and did not want to jump to any conclusion. But if he is an animal that can take the form of a human, then he must be an offshoot of an Animus...a Humanus."

"A what?" the members of the Dream Circus had question marks floating around them.

Gangrel sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "A Humanus is a being who is of a mixed breed of a human with the abilities and characteristics of an Animus. John is a Lupin, a Wolf-like Animus but has the ability to take on the human form he was born as."

"That could explain why John had those seizures," Randy said in thought.

Shannon ran backstage to see the group circled around the wolf. "Do I need to ask what's going on or should I just wait for someone to tell me?"

"We'll explain later," said Matt. He looked to see the audience waiting for the next act; John's. "But we have to do something....John's up next and he's too sleepy to do anything!"

"And I'm not going out again!" exclaimed Jeff. "I used up the last of the fire powder that I had with me for tonight's performance: I need more supplies to make a fresh batch."

"We cannot lose our audience at this point!" Shannon moaned. "What are we going to do, great leader?"

Gangrel rubbed his chin in thought, he then stared at Batista. "I might have an idea..."

**0 0 0 0 0 0**

Gangrel appeared on stage, he cleared his throat as the audience waited for his announcement.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he announced. "Due to an illness, our aerial silk performer John will not be performing tonight. But do not worry; the Dream Circus has found a replacement."

He closed his eyes and an array of magical orbs started to circle around him. The audience was in awe at the magical feat as the orbs started to swarm like a storm of fireflies around them...until they exploded into particles.

Batista immediately made his way into the ring; instead of his usual crossbow, he was now wielding a silver pistol studded with three diamonds at the barrel. He fired it at three blasts that were grouped together and shot at it. A small bullet flew and collided with the motes and it showered the back of the audience in a golden mist.

"For tonight only," said Gangrel. "I would like to introduce you to Batista, the shooter. He is known for his accuracy in targets and if you don't believe me..."

He pulled out a melodi and hurled it at Batista. Sensing this, Batista immediately shot it as it was in the air; it fell right onto the ground, a smoking hole right in the middle of the once whole coin.

Jeff whistled backstage. "Man, he's good."

"It's a good thing he's good." Randy muttered, letting the wolf John sleep on his lap. "He said he wouldn't kill John until he figured out what happened."

"You'd think he'd be dead right now," said Matt. He then turned to Jay who was counting all 40 clefas that he obtained. "Jay, what exactly did you do with that Song Sphere?"

Jay looked up. "Um...I just thought about something Adam once told me. Animals always are on the move, but sometimes they miss the lands they lived upon. He says that something from their past can help calm them down, because it brings them nostalgia. So, I thought that since John was a wolf, then I would do something with lots of grass and maybe wind. I concentrated on that thought and well...here we are now."

"Your brother is a genius!" Jeff exclaimed. "He told you that and it saved the day."

"And it made you a follower, Jeff." Matt complained. "I don't want anything bad to happen, and I don't want him hanging on you like a black cloud..."

"You mean like how you're hanging onto him and pestering him like a mosquito?"

Matt looked up to see Adam standing right behind him. Stryker was asleep in his arms and he had already removed the mask and make-up on his face. "You know we do share the same tent, so I can here every word you say."

"Why don't you just buzz off and leave me alone?" said Matt. "I don't want to talk to you right now."

"What's the matter?" said Adam, sitting down. "What's with this whole attitude you have against me and my brother. And don't lie, I know what you're thinking..."

Matt stared at Adam for a bit, and then sighed. "Well..." he said. "It's all started when I was about 15, and Jeff was around 12. The two lived with our mom and dad in the village of Prestissa...someone burned our house on fire. Jeff got stuck on the stairs and Mom tried to save him. I was waiting outside with my dad, but then I tried to save them also. Mom was able to get him past the kitchen, but was losing oxygen...she told us to go on without her." Tears started to swell in Matt's eyes as he continued. "I didn't want to leave her, but I couldn't leave Jeff behind...but then the ceiling fell apart, and I shielded my brother form the impact....some of the flames went into my flesh, burning me...and Jeff's arms also burned in pain..."

"Eventually, the two of us made it out. Our dad hugged us both, but after hearing mom's death...he cried for 3 whole days. Jeff and I felt so guilty for our actions that we tried our hardest to do jobs to earn some money. But because of the burns, we were ridiculed by the villagers and were known as "demons" and "hags". Jeff was nearly traumatized when someone called him a girl and was stoned at. I knew back then that it was impossible to stay in the village. So one evening, the two of us were about to leave when our dad found us...instead of getting mad, he encouraged us to leave off into the world and not return until we were successful."

"However, even outside the village we were hated, the scars we had taken physically and mentally were still there. It was at this time that we learned new abilities; we could control fire. I was able to eat and breathe fire like a dragon, and Jeff was able to surround his whole body with it. But the scars still remained; until one day around 3 years ago. Gangrel and the Dream Circus found us practicing our act, and noticed our scars. He healed us and offered us a home with our fire act. We agreed...but I still needed to make sure no one hurt my brother again."

"Nice story, but what does that have to do with your anger towards me and my brother?" asked Adam.

Matt looked away and peeled his shirt off. He stood up so Matt could see the horrible burns amongst the flesh. A tear fell down Matt's face as he continued speaking.

"Because," said Matt. "As I was trying to same my brother from the fire, I saw someone that looked similar to you and your brother in the shadows....Ever since that moment, I told Jeff to keep his hair color and to change it...I could not trust anyone with blonde hair like that."

"Then what about Shannon and Ashley?" Adam asked. "Aren't they blonde?"

"Shannon has been my best friend ever since were young, and Ashley...well, she's been like a big sister to me." Matt grabbed his shirt and started to put it back on. "I hope you understand what I was trying to tell you; please forgive me."

"I understand what you feel," said Adam. "Jay and I lost our mom on our 10th birthday, and our dad just left aver we were born. If you ever need anyone to talk to..." He whirled Matt around and extended a hand out to him. "Just talk to me."

Matt hesitated a bit and then grabbed the hand and shook it. "All right, it's a deal."

**0 0 0 0 0 0**

It was eventually the end of the performance for the night; while some of them were busy counting the money, Adam and Jay were excited about having finished their first performance in the circus.

Paul, Brian and Ashley gently placed John upon a soft bed of grass as he stared to wake up. He let out a yawn as he sat down.

"Aww, he's so cute!" said Ashley, snuggling the wolf. "Can I keep him, guys?"

"I'm not a pet, I'm part of the Lupin clan, Ashley." Ashley screamed as she pushed John away from her. John just stared at her with a strange look on his face.

"What?" he said. "You've never seen a Lupin talk to you before?"

"B-but...that can't be...and you're...and I...I mean..." Brian fainted from shock.

Paul's jaw just dropped in shock as he saw John scratch himself with his hind leg. "John, is that you?"

"Of course it's still me. Why do you ask?"

"It's because of what happened earlier to day," said Ashley. "Randy said you were freaking out but when me and the rest of the girls saw you, you acted normal."

"What do you mean by that?" said John. "I don't remember being possessed and freaking out..."

"What was that?" said Paul.

"I said I don't remember freaking out." John repeated.

"He meant the line before that." Ashley snapped.

"Oh, that line." said John. "I said 'I don't remember being possessed'...Oh crap!"

Suddenly John felt something stick near his neck. Batista had regained his crossbow and had placed the tip of a crossbow bolt near the spine of the wolf's neck. "I knew it."

John started to whimper at the touch of the metal near his fur. "W-what are you going to do to me?" He was able to say.

"Kill you for killing my family!" Batista barked back. "Or do you not remember?! That day 2 years ago, I arrived home to not see my daughter's face waiting for me. When I went inside, their bodies had been massacred and you were at the crime scene running away! And if it wasn't enough, I saw you transform in front of my eyes as you ran away...and I continued to search for you until now...and now you'll pay for what you've done."

"I didn't do it!" John screamed out. "I DIDN'T DO IT! I DIDN'T! I DIDN'T! I DIDN'T!"

The shock of the screams woke Brian up to see tears trickle down John's eyes; John let out a long mournful howl that seemed to penetrate into the souls of the circus members.

Batista lowered his crossbow, shock was on his face. "But if you didn't kill my family, who did?"

"That would be me."

Batista turned around to get clobbered by an arm onto the ground. John could only turn around to see the figure who had attacked the hunter. It was around 10 feet tall, standing on two legs and silver fur covered its body. Pointed ears, was on top of its head, and its teeth were a pearly white and covered by a film of drool. Its black claws shined in the evening sky and on its head was a circlet of leaves. Its black eyes were also gleaming in delight.

"Well, well." The creature said in delight. "It looks like we meet again. Johann, I see you are still the same."

"Don't call me that!" John cried out. "I'm not Johann, I'm John. I gave up that name when you ran away!"

"How dare you speak to me that way!" The creature snapped. "Do you know who you are talking to?!"

John snarled as scraps of fur started to fall from his body; he stood up on two legs as the fur was replaced by skin and he was soon wearing a pair of black shorts (his original attire for his act).

"Of course I know, _**Father**_." said John.

"Father?!" Brian gasped out, staring at the larger wolf. "This beast is your father?!"

"He was my father," John snarled out. "This creature you see before me is not the father that I know of..."

The alpha male chuckled, drool falling down its chin. "What are you talking about, dear son? Can you not remember who your father really is?"

"I know who he is!" John snapped. "And he's not you! You're some sort of sicko that's parading around trying to be my father! You may have gotten everyone else in the clan under your thumb, but you won't get me!"

"We'll see about that..." The wolf grinned.

Suddenly John felt a sharp pain in his head. He screamed as he got onto the ground on all fours. Slowly he started to transform into a wolf again, the only difference was that his silver fur became a dark shade of black and his yellow eyes became crimson.

"What the heck is going on?!" said Paul as he, Brian and Ashley stepped back.

The alpha wolf laughed as John turned to his friends, snarling at them. "Let's just say that my son will understand why I am the king of the Lupine clan."

"Wait a minute," said Ashley, putting two and two together. "John's the prince of the Lupins?!"

"That can't be good." said Paul. "We're all going to die."

Suddenly something whizzed in the air, singing off part of the fur on John's ear. He snarled seeing Batista standing up and with his crossbow ready. Sweat was pouring down his face as he tried to decide which wolf to kill.

"Just kill the big one!" Brian exclaimed. "If you kill him, then it'll break the spell!"

"Don't kill him!" Ashley cried out. "John said he was some sort of spell!"

"Kill them all!" The Lupin king ordered John. "Shred them to pieces!"

John grinned as he walked toward his friends. Suddenly he pounced and was about to attack...

When he felt something wrap against his legs, and he fell to the ground.

"WHAT?!" the Lupin king roared. "WHO DARES TRY TO STOP MY SON?!"

"That would be me!"

The wolf king did not have time to react as he was tackled by Terrah and was pinned to the ground. She hissed and dug her claws deep onto his shoulders, her blue eyes piercing into the black ones of the beast.

Batista looked up to see Adam and Matt run toward him. Adam trying his hardest to do so, because his whip had wrapped around John's legs.

"You alright?" asked Matt. "I thought you were going to kill the ones who killed your family."

"I was," said Batista. "Unfortunately, your little friends here don't want me too!"

"Maybe you don't have to!" said Adam. "Didn't John say that even though that the beast in front of us is his dad, he may not truly be in control of his body."

"You mean like a possession." said Matt.

"Exactly." Adam nodded his head.

"You know that's nice and all," said Ashley, interrupting the conversation. "But in a few seconds we're all going to die!"

Adam dropped the whip, releasing the tanglement on John's paws as John started to come towards him. "Matt, on my command. Batista, aim for the crown on the wolf's head."

"Are you nuts?!" said Matt.

Adam turned around, smiling. "Trust me, I can be a little crazy."

John immediately charged toward Adam; Adam ducked as Matt immediately inhaled deeply. Then he exhaled, created a ring of fire trapping the wolf in its fiery blaze.

"Jay, NOW!" cried Adam.

Jay immediately came riding in on Ven as he pulled out his Rainy Sphere. "Sorry," He said as he threw it into the fire. It immediately began to drizzle around the perimeter as the blazing fires started to die out. Smoke started to cover the area as Batista positioned his crossbow to strike.

The Lupin King growled in anger. "What type of trick is this?!" He cried out.

"The trick where we free you from your prison!" said Batista, pulling the trigger of his crossbow. It whizzed through the smoke as it knocked the laurel crown off of the wolf's head and onto the ground.

"Guys!" Adam cried to Ashley, Paul and Brian. "Destroy that crown, NOW!"

The three nodded and tackled onto the crown, ripping it into nothing more but leaves and twigs. They fluttered into the ground as the smoke stared to clear away. John rubbed his eyes with his arms as he yawned.

"Man, what a nice nap." He said. That's when he noticed everyone looking at him. "What's going on?" He then saw the fallen form of his father. "Dad!"

He immediately ran to him, but was only met by the wrath of Terrah. Adam looked at her, and the winged lionesses immediately backed off. John knelt down and started to stroke the soft silver fur covering his father's body. "Dad..."

A low growling nose rose from the wolf king's throat as he opened his eyes, seeing his own son's face looking at him.

"My son, what has happened these past two years?"

John's face was lit with confusion. "You don't...remember what happened? You killed a man's wife and daughter two years ago..."

"I don't remember such a thing. My mind is a bit fuzzy..."

"It's because of this," said Adam showing a small leaf to the Lupin King. "The laurel crown you had on your head was made of poison oak; because of the mixed heredity, it makes Humanus like you act crazy. But that's not the only thing..."

Jay picked up another leaf and closed his eyes, he opened them after a while and the leaf turned from emerald green into a pale orange. "I knew it, the leaves were soaked in wolf's bane; with that deadly combination it made the king act as if he was on an extended periods of a Paranoia sphere. Plus, someone was controlling him from a distance, if he was going berserk, someone would have to calm him down with psychic powers...and that's how John got affected."

"How the hell do you know this stuff?" Matt said in shock.

Jay shrugged his shoulders. "Mom always said I could've always been a great detective when I grew up. And as I was saying, this person who controlled the Lupin King somehow had telekinetic and telepathic powers. He was able to search his memories, and knew of his son. So he controlled the king to travel to the village where Batista's family as at, killed them and by the time John finally caught up, Batista came in. That's why Batista hated John; John was a victim of an entire mistake."

"I can sort of see what you're getting at," said Batista. "But what was with that whole scene in stopping the wolves from attacking us?"

"It didn't make any sense." said Paul. "You were risking all of our lives here for goodness sake!"

"That was simple," said Adam. "Lupins hate two things: fire and silver bullets. Matt could breathe fire, so by making a ring around John, John could have no way of escaping because he would be afraid of being singed. The father—being protective of his son—would try to save him, but couldn't because he was afraid of dying also. Then, with Jay's Rainy Sphere, the rain would douse the flames and cause smoke to temporary blind them. With Batista's skill as an archer, he was able to knock off the laurel crown which was the cause of all of this mess.

The Lupin King sat up, then laughed heartily. He went up to the blonde twins and patted them both on the heads. "Never in my life have I ever heard of two humans with advanced minds just like that. These two...these two..."

He stopped there, staring briefly into the eyes of the twins. He stayed silent for a while; Adam and Jay starting to sweat, in fear of what could possibly happen to them.

The Lupin King then turned to Batista. "My dear fellow," He said. "Please forgive me for my actions; I could not control them due to that horrible being. But I do know one thing...whoever that being was, I assure you he was using me to get to something." He then went a little closer. "But I must speak to you in private about this matter; something about those twins, unnerves me."

Batista nodded, strapping the crossbow onto his back. "I assure you no weapons will be needed for this conversation, but I will kill the bastard responsible for this whole mess."

The wolf king stared at John. "Johann, I mean John." He said. "Go meet up with your friends; I'll meet up in a while with a gift."

"A gift?" said Ashley. "What type of gift can a wolf give us?"

"Let's not question the king," said Brian, pushing his friend away. "Let's just go."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 **

"That's every last one of them," said Shannon, falling onto his bed. "50 clefas, 60 melodi and 32 beats. A new record!"

"That's enough for some new props!" Mickie said, bouncing up and down. "I can finally afford a Bell Staff!"

"And I always wanted one of those Caged Birds!" Maria added.

"I can finally afford a new spell book," Randy said looking through his old tattered one. "This one's about to go."

"Maybe we could get one of those pretty Glow Rings," said Jeff, drifting off into space.

"Or you can all just get off your asses and help me out!" Gangrel snapped, as he was putting the money away.

At that time the rest of the Masquerade Circus returned.

"Matt!" Jeff said, hugging his brother. "You're alright."

Matt smiled and patted Adam's shoulder. "Thank our good friend, Adam. If it wasn't for him and Jay, we would've been dead."

Shannon nearly fell from his bed. "What did you say? Did you call Adam, your friend? I thought you hated him."

"I guess I shouldn't judge books by their covers," said Matt shrugging his shoulders.

Gangrel looked at John, tentatively. "You okay?"

John nodded a bit. "Yeah, but there's something I have to tell you all...Once upon a time, I was the prince of the Lupin clan...but then something happened....

**0 0 0 0 0 0**

"So you must understand what the situation is."

Batista nodded his head. "You're saying that it's one of his minions that did this to you."

"That is the only theory that could match up what the clan has been feeling," said the Lupin King. "The Felus and the Avi also feel it; Darkness is about to awaken soon, and I feel that that Circus, and the inhabitants inside there are the only ones who can save Harmonia from a terrible fate."

"And what does that have to do with me?" said Batista.

"I want you to keep an eye on them," said the king. "Your skills in hunting are essential in lowering the number of forces that Darkness may have. The fewer they have, the better for us."

"Understood." The king nodded his head as he removed a bracelet he was wearing on his left arm.

"It's time to give this to him," The Lupin King murmured. "We will need this to unlock his temple later on."

"His temple?" asked Batista.

"It is time to awaken Gaea's Guardians," said the King. "It is time for Gaea to awaken once more."

**0 0 0 0 0 0**

_What really happened between the Lupis King and John?_

_Who was the one responsible for killing Batista's family?_

_What will happen now that there is a war that will soon happen?_

_And what is going on with Adam and Jay?_

_All this and more on the next chapter of "Masquerade in the Night"!_

_Until then, read and review!_


	4. Lupis, The Wolf

_Well, here we are! We're at the end of my "Van Helsing" arc and when this chapter is done, we'll head toward our next arc!_

_And if people didn't understand Prestissa, it is based on Prestissima which is the fastest tempo for music. It literally means "extremely fast"._

_Well, now that our little music tidbit is done, it's time to start!_

__ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ __ __ __ ___ __ _ _ _ _ __

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**Masquerade in the Night**

**by Green Phantom Queen**

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**Chapter 4-Lupis, The Wolf**

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"By the time I turned 17, things changed for the worse." said John. "My father wasn't acting like himself after his long journey across the land of Harmonia. On that fateful night, we were off for a midnight hunt. Unfortunately, the hunt wasn't for animals, but it was for humans. By the time I reached where my father was, I saw it. He had killed two humans that day; I was then spotted by that man, Batista. I tried to tell him what happen, but he wouldn't listen. So all I could do was run away from home to avoid the shame that I brought onto my family."

"And that's when you met up with the Dream Circus!" Shannon finished. "When we first saw you, we first thought you were some orphan. But that still doesn't answer one question; why exactly did you decide to be our aerial silk artist?"

"Um..." John pushed his two index fingers together, smiling sheepishly. "Well, Lupins don't wear a lot of clothes except what the earth gives us. When I found the fabric strewn apart, I immediately dove into it and just really loved the texture...you could say that I'm into soft things..."

"We still love you though," said Maria. "Just try not to drool all over the silk; it's hard to wash you know."

"Don't worry," said Jeff. "If John becomes bad, Adam and Jay can tame him."

"He better not." The Circus members turned to see the Lupin King come toward him. "I have come to make sure that you have a gift before you leave."

He opened his paw and showed a small bracelet made of oak with many wolves cared amongst the large circlet.

"Dad, you're not really serious..." John gasped out. "It's our clan's sacred treasure."

"It is," said the king. "But it's time to fulfill its true purpose. Do you all know what's going on?"

"Um, no?" said the circus members.

Batista just pinched his nose at that. "Have you ever heard of the story of Gaea and Darkness?"

"I have!" Jay said, raising a hand. "When Harmonia was created, Gaea created 6 guardians to protect the world. They were: Fire, Wind, Light, Shadow, Water and Earth. But then Darkness corrupted them and made them impure and they caused destruction across the world. Then Gaea decided to split the Guardians into two: there would be the Guardian, and then a Vessel which was a part of the original Guardian. She and these 6 sealed up Darkness into the Center of the Harmonia itself, and Gaea ascended into the sky to watch over her world."

"....Yes, that's exactly what's going on." said the king. "Darkness is starting to awaken from his slumber, and he has already brought his influence upon people like myself. But, I see that you all have excellent talents, particularly you two." He looked at Adam and Jay.

"Us?" said Adam. "What can we do?"

"The two of you have displayed powers that even the elves would barter for," The Lupin King explained. "Your quick thinking and logic was what made me realize of the threat Darkness was starting to spread amongst the world. Tell me, have you ever had any experiences with these powers?"

"Mom did say we were special." said Jay. "She said that we had the power of the Water and Earth Guardians in us, and if we just believed in ourselves, then we could do anything."

The Lupin King stared at the boys once more; he then smiled and let out a laugh. "Yes, that's it! I must say that I have never been impressed with two children like yourself."

"What about me?" Matt cried out. "I'm the fire-breather here!"

"Yes, I cannot forget about you." said the King, patting Matt on the head. "But that doesn't mean they're the only ones who are alone; all of you in this circus must find a way to get to the 6 Guardians and unlock their temples. It won't be easy; there will be people who would want to slow down your progress, and the Temples cannot be opened without their Relics. We also must find the 6 Vessels from Gaea's story."

"What for?" asked Ashley. "What do they have to do with the story?"

"It's because these Vessels are the missing half of the Guardians," said Batista. "The Vessels will carry the blessings of the Guardians, which will be needed to awaken Gaea. The blessings are like merits of honor, you can say."

The Lupin king nodded his head. "Now, I will leave you with one of the Relics needed later on for your quest." The King handed Gangrel the bracelet. "The Wolf's Dance; this bracelet tells of how the first Lupins came to be. Every ruler of the Lupin clan has worn it to remember our heritage. You will need it when you head off to Geb, for there lies the Guardian of Earth. But you will also need the Relics of the Feli and the Avi to finish it."

"I understand," said Gangrel, staring down at the bracelet. "We will make sure to find the leaders of those two as we head off on our journey."

"I suggest that you find the first temple in this area," said Batista. "Then, work your way around Harmonia and head to the center of the land. That is where you will find the area where Darkness was thrown into Harmonia's depths."

"But what about these Vessels?" said Randy. "How will we know that we've found them?"

"You'll know," said Batista as he stared to walk off. "I must go now, I have to find the monster that truly killed my family."

"And I must go back to my kingdom." The King petted his son's head. "Behave, and make sure that the Relic does not fall into the wrong hands."

"Right." The king smiled at his son once more as he went off.

"Goodbye then," John cried out. "And good luck!"

**0 0 0 0 0 0**

Batista stared at the giant wolf as they walked amongst the dirt road. "There's something about those two, right?"

The king nodded. "Yes," he replied. "Their responses—as naïve as they appear to be—are making me wonder....maybe they do not know what is going on."

"And that's the way it should be," said Batista. "If they found out, then it would be easier for the enemy to find out what's going on. They need to be kept in the dark, to make sure the enemy does not about it. Still..."

"I fear that we may be in for a world of trouble with that Circus around."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

The twelve teenagers were sitting around the tent, blankets were strewn everywhere and they were all staring at the leftover money from the show.

"So," said Mickie. "What are we going to do with all this money?"

"Gangrel did say we have a day off," said Brian.

"Why not go shopping?" Paul suggested. "I mean, when's the last time we've all had a chance to shop for something?"

"About 3 months," said Shannon, counting his fingers. "Plus that time we were in the mountains."

"So what do you say we just paint the town red?" Maria exclaimed. "We'll buy new clothes, new accessories and just have the time of our lives. Anyone with me?"

"AYE!" Everyone else cheered.

**0 0 0 0 0 0**

It was midnight; everyone was asleep.

Everyone, except Randy.

He was still reading from his spell book, concentrating on something in front of him. He strained, trying to follow the spell.

"Anything wrong?" Randy turned around to see John turning back in his wolf form.

"Um, nothing." said Randy, turning away. "But why are you in your wolf form?"

"I just wanted to sleep in this form every now and then," John smiled at him, showing his fierce lupine teeth. "And can I sleep on your lap again?"

"Uh...." Randy immediately turned away, picturing the scene of him lying on his back, with John as a wolf on top of him...."Sure."

As John soon got on top of the young magician, pressing his paws on Randy's chest to push down him down on the ground, he spoke. "John?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think it's possible that if we're going to be telling life stories, that we try to avoid Adagi?"

"Why do you want to do that?"

Randy tried his hardest to lean into John's ear.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

It was a cheerful morning in Alle; the Dream Circus coming into the village to perform made everyone a bit more happier then usual.

"STOP THAT THIEF!!!!!!!!"

Then again, the guards were their usual angry selves.

One of them saw Jay at a Sphere stop, picking up a brand new Sphere which had some sort of black liquid floating around inside. The guard picked him up by the scruff of the shirt he was wearing and turned him around.

"Um," said Jay, showing a small receipt. "I paid for this Sphere, and I haven't been stealing anything."

"But you still manage to show your face around these parts." The guard sneered. "Let's see how you would like to face the stockades!"

Before Jay could close his eyes, an older guard came in, and whacked the other guard on the head. "Don't you dare hurt him!" He said. "Can you not see that he was a performer from the Dream Circus? He can no longer be arrested as long as he is part of the circus?"

"But he's still the same thief we've been chasing for the last 3 years!" said the first guard.

"Not any thief can be chosen into the Dream Circus." said the second guard. "And Gangrel prizes his performers; if you want to get his wrath, then take him to the king. I'm sure, he'd like to face Gangrel's fury."

The first guard hesitated, then backed off. "Fine." he muttered.

Jay smiled as he placed his new sphere amongst the two others that he bought: A Paranoia Sphere and a Windy sphere.

**0 0 0 0 0 0**

Adam was already looking at a stall that was lined with different accessories: necklaces, rings, collars. He looked down in the wicker basket he brought and saw Stryker mew softly.

"Welcome!" The shop owner said, a young girl with brown hair, and many bracelets covering her arms. "You want anything?"

"Actually," said Adam, bring out Stryker to the girl. "I need a new collar for my pet."

"He's so cute!" the shop owner cooed, petting Stryker. "I think I have something for him."

"It's a girl," said Adam.

"That makes it so much easier!" said the girl, as she pulled out a bracelet on her left arm. It was silver with a small emerald on it. "It usually costs around 2 clefas, but I'll give you a discount and let you have it for 1 clefa and 5 melodi."

"Deal!" said Adam, giving the young girl the money. Stryker immediately slipped onto the bracelet, until it was around her neck.

"Thank you, and have a nice day!" the girl cried as she saw Adam walk off.

**0 0 0 0 0 0**

Brian was looking at one of the stalls, staring at many of the amulets and charms they were selling.

"Do you have anything with stars on them?" He asked the saleswoman. She was around 60, wielding a wooden staff, and her face was covered by her purple cloak.

"I think I might have something." She said, turning around. She pulled out a small box of treasures, and pulled out a small key which had the symbol of Aries on it. "It's a small trinket, not that special though."

"It's fine with me," said Brian, picking up the key and inspecting it. "How much?"

"Only 20 beats." said the woman. "It is only a key I found many years ago, but I think it will better off with you."

"I guess," said Brian, handing the coins to the woman. As he walked up, he cheered to himself. "YES!" he cried out. "That's the last key I need to complete my collection!"

He brought out a small wire bracelet, smiling in delight at the 11 other keys there; he slipped the Aries key on the bracelet and placed it around his wrist as he hopped off.

**0 0 0 0 0 0**

In the remains of an ancient temple, a shimmering mirror was floating above it. A young man wearing a black cloak stared at it in wonder. He stared at the young blonde boy as he walked back to his friends.

"So, he has the Relic." He murmured, rubbing his chin. "But he does not know about what it does. The Guardian of that region is still asleep, but with a little 'help', he'll be awake once more."

"And we will make sure that we help 'support' this young boy. Lord David, the two of us will not fail."

Lord David stared at the two figures, one male and one female. They were both wearing black—the man wearing a black cloak with a high collar, and a woman wearing a long black dress and red streaks in her hair—as they bowed down to their lord.

"We will make sure that we get the boy." said the woman, showing her teeth in a wicked smile. "We'll make sure we feed on his blood."

"I don't want any blood shed." said Lord David. "We need him alive."

"Yes sir." The two left as Lord David stared back at the portal.

"The first Guardian will awaken when the Relic unlocks the altar," Lord David murmured. "Then, and only then will he awaken..."

"And when that happens, then everything will be in motion."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

In the village of Adagi, there was many things that were happening. The citizens of the village were circling around a statue that was bound with chains, chanting in a language unknown. One of the figures stepped forward, placing a basket of fruit in front of the monument.

"Please, Saint of Witches," said the figure. "Protect us with your magic."

Unbeknown to them all, someone else was staring at the statue. Gripping a long scythe in his hands, his brown hair covered by the black hat on his forehead, he stared transfixed at the statue. The wind whipped softly against his black cloak as he pulled out a small necklace. A tear fell from his eye as he mouthed out a single word. He then walked off, still gripping onto the necklace and disappeared into the shadows.

**0 0 0 0 0 0**

Night fell amongst the Dream Circus; they had successfully left the village of Alle, and were camping amongst the grounds of the Chopi Woods. Dinner was getting prepared by the girls, while Matt and Jeff worked on getting the fire lit.

"Um, guys," said Shannon staring at the fire pit. "Who was supposed to get the wood?"

Adam and Jay shrugged their shoulders. "Don't look at us, we're new here." said Adam.

"Let's see," said Paul, counting on his fingers. "I did it yesterday, Randy was the day before, John did it two days ago, Matt did it three days ago..." He was silent as he counted on his fingers. "It's Brian's turn."

"What?!" said Brian. "I'm not today...what is today?"

"The 8th of August," said Ashley.

"Oh yeah." said Brian. He looked at the dark woods and gulped. "Do I really have to go in there? It doesn't look very inviting."

"We're not going to eat until someone gets wood," said John. "Just go!"

"Y-yeah," said Brian as he stared to walk off. "Here goes nothing."

**0 0 0 0 0**

The Chopi Woods was known for its wood; if used in cooking, the smoke emitted from the flames would give any meat grilled on it a delicious consistency, and the soups weren't half-bad either. Unfortunately—for a sacrifice in taste and smoke—the trees were always black in color; even in the day time. It was always said that camping out in the woods would be hell because of the unfortunate souls going insane from being surrounded by darkness.

Brian continued to walk, trying to find his way through the woods. "Of all kingdoms we go to," he muttered. "We head to Noir; home of the best produce and magic stores, but also the worst type of forest to walk through in the night. How the hell am I going to get wood here? I can't even see my own hand in front of my face!"

That's when he remembered something; he looked at his left hand, and pressed on something on there. A small light immediately radiated the area.

"That's better," he said, staring at the small ring on his ring finger. "Good thing I bought that Glow Ring before I left; now to find some wood."

He immediately found a bundle of twigs in front of him and picked them up. That's when he heard something behind him; turning around, he found many ravens with ruby-like eyes staring at him, gazing at him, observing him.

"O-okay..." He said. "This is getting scary..."

"Not as scary as when you find out what's going to happen if you don't leave here."

Brian whipped is head around to see a menacing figure in black and wielding a scythe was in front of him. He screamed and fell to the ground, all of the twigs and wood he collected falling onto the dirt. He pointed a finger at him, his Glow Ring only enhancing the man's terrifying features.

"W-what do you want with me?" Brian asked. "I-If you want to eat me, then I suggest looking somewhere else."

"I'm here," the man said. "To make you leave this place for good!"

Brian could only gulp as he saw the man raise his scythe as it was ready to split his head open. Sweat poured down his face as he saw his life flash before his eyes.

Suddenly he felt himself being pulled down onto the ground. He could only gasp as he quickly fell; his Glow Ring slipping off his finger as he did.

The man slammed the scythe down, barely missing Brian by a second or so. He noticed the Glow Ring on the ground, the small trinket slowly losing its light. Picking it up, he stared at it. A purple light started to glow around it, as the man rolled his eyes to the back of his head. After a minute or two, the light started to fade away as a black symbol started emerge in the darkness.

The man then closed his eyes and grabbed the ring as he exited the woods.

**0 0 0 0 0 0**

Brian opened his eyes to find himself nowhere near the man. He stood up, finding himself outside the woods, and in the area of ruined building. Many ravens flocked amongst the dead trees, their crimson eyes staring at the boy.

"Where am I?" he said.

Suddenly he was tackled onto the ground by something heavy. He turned around to see it was a young woman, with long black hair with two red streaks dyed in it. She was wearing a black dress that went down to her ankles, and black boots.

"Thank goodness I saved you!" She cried out. "I thought I almost you!"

"Do I know you?" asked Brian, as the woman stood up.

"Do forgive me," she said as she bowed to him. "My name is Ariel, me and my brother Kevin live in these ruins away from the forest. We saw you about to die by that hideous man and wanted to save you."

"Ariel!" The two turned around to see a young man in a sleeveless black cloak with silver clips shown on its chest walking up to them. He had short spiky hair and fierce black eyes. Pointing a black staff at Brian, he said, "Thank goodness you are alright."

"Um, my pleasure." said Brian, shaking his hand. "Brian Kendrick, and you must be Kevin."

"A pleasure to meet you," Kevin replied. "Why not stay at our home? It's getting dark out and being in the Chopi Woods at this time is never a good thing."

"Thanks, but I have to get out of here." Brian said, turning away. "I need to get back to my family at the Dream Circus; they must be pretty worried about me. And hungry."

"Come on," said Ariel, pushing Brian into the ruins. "It's just for one evening; then you can just leave by morning."

"How did I get here in the first place?" said Brian as he was going through the steps of the ruins. "And where is this place?"

"This is an old temple, left by Gaea herself." said Kevin. "It's supposed to hold something sacred, but we need something to open it up."

Brian could barely see anything inside the temple; it was pitch black, just like the forest itself. He looked at his left hand, but noticed his Glow Ring had vanished.

"Not to worry," said Kevin. "I'll handle this."

He tapped the ground with his staff, and suddenly there was the sight of the flickering flames of the torches brightening the view. The ruins were black as ebony, with small specks of white stone glittering amongst it to make it look like a starry sky. In the center of the temple was a small altar made out of the same material as the temple itself.

Brian walked up to it, seeing twelve small holes in a circle, and a hole in the middle. He peered closer to see many different images on each of the holes creating the circle.

"These remind me of my keys." he said, pulling them out. He looked at the one holding the Aries sign, then stared at one of the holes; one of them had a ram near it.

"Where did you get those?!" Ariel said, rushing toward Brian. She looked at the keys in his hand and back at the altar. "This is the Relic of the Temple of Shadow!"

"These were Relics?!" Brian cried out. "I just thought they were part of a set of keys."

"These are the Zodiac Keys," said Kevin, pointing to the altar with his cane. "All 12 of them make up the entire Relic, and each one of these keys must be placed here before the Guardian of Shadow appears."

"But why here of all places?" said Brian.

"It's because it has the best view of the stars," said Ariel. "When one looks up at the night sky, they could feel the beauty of the stars looking down from them. The Guardian of Shadow, Leonard, created these keys as a way to unlock the mystery of his temple, much like the mystery of the stars themselves."

"That does sound interesting," said Brian. He then stared placing the Aries Key in its right spot. He continued doing so in the order of the circle, until he finally reached Pisces. With the last key in place, the altar started to shake.

"What's going on?!" said Brian. "What did I do?"

"Nothing," said Ariel, a smirk on her face. "But as a reward, have this!"

She casted a spell as Brian screamed in pain. A bonfire of black fire surrounded his body as the altar of the temple started to crack open. Ariel cackled as Brian fell to the ground.

"Ariel, we must get going." said Kevin. "Our work here is done."

The woman nodded her head as she and Kevin disappeared amongst the shadows.

**0 0 0 0 0 0**

2 hours had passed since Brian went to the forest; everyone at the Dream Circus was getting a little worried. Without Brian's wood, they weren't going to eat.

"What is taking that guy so long?" said Shannon. "It doesn't take a guy that long to fetch wood."

"We're in the Chopi Woods, Shannon." said Matt. "It's the worst place to be in Noir if it's nighttime. I'd be scared too if I was in your position."

"No you wouldn't," Mickie muttered. "You're a fire breather. All you have to do is light your way home, dragon breath."

"She does have a point, Matt." said Jeff.

Adam's stomach was growling as he heard something coming towards them. "Guys, did you hear that?"

Gangrel stood up, bringing out a small dagger. "Stand back, everyone." He said.

As he was about to strike, a man appeared. Through the glimpse of the lights that were placed around the campsite, they could see that the man was around 6 feet tall, maybe taller. He was wielding a scythe in one hand, wearing a black trench coat to cover his muscled arms and a black shirt and pants. A black fedora hat covered his brown hair, and on his neck was a strange symbol tattooed on it.

"It's a zombie!" John cried out, hiding behind Randy. "Don't let him hurt me!"

Randy pushed John off of him. "Don't look at me for help! I can't kill zombies, I resurrect them."

"I'm not a zombie," said the man. "I am only a wanderer, and through it I have found this."

He pulled out a small ring with a black jewel in its center.

"That was Brian's Glow Ring!" said Ashley. She then looked at the man in horror. "You killed him, didn't you?!"

"How dare you!" Gangrel snarled at the man. "You will pay for your crime!"

"Drop your weapon, I am not here to hurt you. My name is Mark Callaway, but I also known as the Undertaker."

"Undertaker?" said Adam. "You don't look so scary to me."

"Trust me, you'll be in scarier things if you don't get your friend out of this damn Woods."

"What do you mean by that?" said Maria.

"It's because," said the Undertaker, showing the Circus a symbol that emerged from the ring—a black upside down crescent with a black diamond under it—hovering in the air. "This boy is the Vessel for Leonard, Guardian of the Shadows."

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_What was Ariel's spell that caused Brian to faint?_

_What was the statue in the city of Adagi?_

_Why does Randy not want to go back there?_

_And who is this Lord David?_

_All these answers and more in the next chapter!_

_Until then, please read and review!_


	5. Corvis, The Raven

_Thanks for the review everyone! I am sure people are getting used to this story and stay with me till the end and you won't forget it! _

_So, let's start!_

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**Masquerade in the Night**

**by Green Phantom Queen**

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**Chapter 5- Corvus, The Raven**

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Brian slowly woke up, moaning as he held his head. He barely remembered what had happened after he placed the keys into the alter.

The altar...the altar!

Brian immediately stood up, seeing the cracked remains of the altar. The twelve keys were now scattered amongst the floor and there was something that was on the black stone floor. It was a mask to cover his eyes and was decorated with black feathers on the side. A small ruby was on the center of the forehead.

He picked it up and stared at it, something about it was familiar.

"Wait a minute," he said, looking around. "Where am I? Better yet, who am I?"

"Do you not remember, my love?"

Brian turned around to see someone standing behind him. It was a young boy, similar to Brian in both physical appearance and stature, and he was wearing a black feathered cape and pants. A pair of black boots were on his feet and a mask with a curved, pointed nose was on his face. His own blonde hair was tied off with a black silk ribbon.

"Remember what though?" Brian asked, looking at the person. "I don't remember anything...my head is so fuzzy...." He fell to the ground on his knees, holding his head.

The other man chuckled as he pet Brian's hair. "Do you not remember your other half? I am Leonard, Guardian of Shadow. And you were my Vessel, Bri."

"I...was?" Brian asked, his blue eyes starting to lose its glimmer. "I...can't recall......."

"It was because it was all those years ago." said Leonard, grasping Brian's hand with his own. "When Gaea split us apart, you were separated from me; your body was eradicated while I was sealed inside the temple. All that was left of you was your mask; I have waited for the day that you will return." He slowly lifted Brian's hand, the one that was still grasping the mask. "Now, can you recall?"

Brian closed his eyes as a memory passed through him. He could barely remember the scenery, but he could just recall him being loved by someone. He could remember feeling warmth from a special someone; he could remember being pulled apart by some being not able to say anything as he fell from what he thought was the sky. A tear trickled down his cheek.

He opened his eyes, showing Leonard his blue-black orbs. "I remember now...She did this to us. She separated us, she made me unable to come back to you."

Leonard smiled softly as he placed the mask near Brian's eyes. "This was the only thing that was left of you; now you can be complete."

He placed the mask around Brian's eyes as a soft wind started to blow.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 **

"But that's impossible!" Paul cried out. "How could Brian be the Vessel to a Guardian?!"

Undertaker just pinched the bridge of his nose. "Because I read his aura; his aura is the same as the original Vessel. Vessels are the other halves of the 6 Guardians; they awaken only when it is time to. Darkness is starting to appear, so through strange circumstances the Vessels are thrown into the mix into finding their other selves."

"So I guess it wasn't a coincidence that it was Brian's turn to take firewood, huh?" said Mickie.

"There is no coincidence, only the inevitable." said the Undertaker. "But in order for a Vessel to even gain the ability to awaken a Guardian all depends if he has the right relics."

"Well, what do you need in order to unlock Leonard's Temple?" asked Matt.

"I know!" Jay cried out. "You need the 12 Zodiac Keys; they're called that because each key holds the symbol of a Zodiac constellation." Everyone looked at him. "What?"

"Oh shit!" Ashley exclaimed. "Brian said he was collecting them; he finally found the last Key in the marketplace today! "

"Then that means, he doesn't know its true potential." said Gangrel. "We have to go into the Woods right now and stop him."

"Easier said than done," said Undertaker. "When the Guardian awakens, he is able to speak into the 'soul' of the Vessel, to bring them back their memories. The Vessel is overwhelmed by these memories and through them the Guardian can awaken their former selves. The only way to do so is by making them wear the only item that was left of the original Vessel."

"Well, as long as we have that on our side, we're safe, right?" John looked at Undertaker as he said that.

"That's the bad news." said Undertaker. "The altar in the Temple of Shadow needs to be unlocked by the 12 Zodiac Keys; once then, the mask that originally belonged to Leonard's Vessel will appear. And Leonard is awake."

"Great." said Matt. "Is there anyway to get Brian back to normal?"

Undertaker nodded his head. "You need to remove that Remnant, the item of the Vessel and then find where the Guardian is keeping the true soul. Vessels have two souls: the soul of the original Vessel themselves, and their own. It is to make sure that these halves have a chance in living a second life."

Adam stood up, bringing out his whip. "What are we waiting for?! We're not going to sit around on our asses; we're going to find our friend!"

Gangrel looked at Adam, a smile on his face. "He's right; we're not going to lose a family member so easily!"

Everyone else agreed as they stood up. Undertaker could see the determination in their eyes as a soft smile was on his face.

"Very well," he said. He pulled out a Sphere which had a cloud of silver mist in it. "Take this Teleport Sphere; it already has the location of the Temple of Shadows, use it to find your friend."

He threw it onto the ground as a silver mist gathered amongst everyone. Everyone closed their eyes as they immediately heard the cawing of ravens.

"The Chopi Woods are known for having hundreds and hundreds of ravens here." Gangrel murmured. "They are the eyes and ears of Leonard; even when he is a sleep, his influence reaches far and wide."

Suddenly a flock of ravens came, bombing onto the unsuspecting group as they were being clawed and pecked on by the birds' beaks and claws.

"Ow!" cried Maria, shielding her face with her arms. "Stop it! That hurts!"

"Jay!" said Randy. "You have a Sphere that could help us?"

Jay, despite being mobbed by 20 ravens, pulled out a Sphere that had a small tornado inside. "Stand back guys! My Windy Sphere will blow them away!"

But as he was about to throw it, the ravens immediately pulled back. Everyone then turned around to see a figure amongst the ruins; he was in his teens, wearing a black mask covering his eyes and a cloak of black feathers tipped with white that was covering his body. What was strange were his blue-black eyes, staring at them all.

"It's Brian!" Ashley cried out, running up the steps to see him.

"Don't Ashley!" Paul said, catching up to her. "He's being possessed by—"

He didn't have time to finish as Brian raised a hand and an invisible forcefield appeared, blocking the two.

"This does not look good." said Shannon.

"Who dares to enter the Temple of Shadows?" Brian cried out, anger on his face.

"Brian, it's us!" Ashley cried out. "Paul London and Ashley Massaro! We're your friends!"

"I don't need any friends," Brian cried out. "And I am not Brian; my name is Bri, Vessel of Leonard."

"We're too late." said Gangrel. "He's gone."

"Not yet we aren't!" said Randy, bringing out his spell book. "There has to be something we can do to snap him out of his trance." He leafed through the pages as everyone else prepared for a fight.

"We must be on our guard," said Undertaker. "Leonard is known to be dangerous when it comes to a fight."

"How right you are!" Undertaker and Gangrel turned around to find Leonard wielding a rapier with a raven's hilt on it. "Once I'm done with you two, your name will be known never more."

Gangrel rushed toward the Guardian, slashing at him with his dagger. Leonard blocked it with his rapier while Undertaker came from behind and pinned him down to the ground.

Brian saw the Guardian being assaulted; anger grew from inside him as he shattered the forcefield into pieces, causing Paul and Ashley to crash into Shannon Moore.

"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HIM!" Brian screamed as the feathers from his cloak started to peel off. They were soon floating in mid-air and were suddenly flying at the members of the Dream Circus.

"NO!" Gangrel cried, seeing the rest of the members of the Circus helpless against the projectiles. The distraction got Leonard to push Undertaker down to the ground and then attack the ringleader, a dagger against his throat.

"One move, old man." Leonard said with a smirk on his face. "And you and your little Circus goes bye-bye!"

"This is the end, isn't it?" said Jeff, hugging Matt. "But I never go to tell Dad how much I love him."

"This isn't fair!" John cried out, hugging Randy. "After I just found out what happened to Dad."

"I wish I could've told my parents how much I loved them." said Mickie.

"SNAP OUT OF IT!" Adam cried. "We're not going to die yet!"

Jay, still gripping onto his Windy Sphere, smashed it onto the ground. A giant gust of wind started to appear, pushing away the feathers until they disappeared into the night sky. Undertaker immediately pinned Leonard onto the ground once more while Gangrel immediately turned to the Circus members.

"Are you all right?" Everyone nodded their heads. Randy was once again, engrossed in his book.

"I've got it!" He turned to Paul and Ashley. "Come here, I have an idea!"

"It better be good." said Paul, crowding around the Necromancer.

"Hurry it up!" said Jay. "This wind's going to die out in about 30 seconds!"

Randy stared at the book that was hovering in the hair. Joining hands, he chanted.

_Mighty spell I see in thee._

_Make me a raven! One, two, three!_

The text of the book began to glow; it then lifted itself off the pages and swirled around the three. The huge gust of wind started to die off as Randy, Paul and Ashley started to change form.

"This is getting us nowhere!" said Maria, seeing the chaos that was going on. "We need evasive action!"

"I have that covered!" John slowly started to change form, until he was transformed into his wolf form. He howled as he started to charge toward Brian.

"I'm going in too!" said Shannon, charging up to Brian. As he neared closer Brian brought his hand, and dug into Shannon's arm.

"Don't you dare!" He cried out, talons piercing into the snake charmer's skin, deeper and deeper as blood started to appear.

"I won't let you hurt my friends!" said Shannon, trying to remove Brian's hand. It was then that he saw something peculiar; there were reptile scales growing on top of his skin. "Wha—?"

Brian snarled, digging his claws deeper and deepers, only to meet resistance. Shannon saw this as a chance to kick Brian in the chest, moving away so John could pounce on him.

Adam looked at down at what was originally Randy, Paul and Ashley. They were now transformed into ravens. "And what's that going to do?" he asked.

"Mew." Stryker came up and climbed onto Adam's shoulder. In all of the excitement, Adam had completely forgot that the small kitten was there. He then noticed Maria and Mickie fighting Brian, while Matt and Jeff were immediately shooting fire at Leonard. Jay was trying his hardest to concentrate on something, and Adam had done nothing at all.

That's when he remembered Undertaker's words; in order to free a Vessel, they needed to remove its Remnant. Adam noticed that despite the attacks Brian was dishing out, he was trying to protect his face...his face...

"THAT'S IT!" He cried out. He turned to the three ravens. "You three, fly toward Brian and be quick!" He looked at Stryker. "Stryker follow after them, and make sure you attack the mask on Brian's face."

The ravens immediately took flight, Stryker also took chase. As the four ran up the stairs, Brian was trying his hardest to attack Mickie, but was failing considerably.

"Missed me!" She said, as she ducked a punch from him. She tried to nail him one back, but her fist connected with a forcefield. "Ow..." she said, seeing that her knuckles were bruised.

"This is getting us nowhere!" said Shannon, trying to push Brian back. "He's gaining momentum!"

Jay turned around to see the bird forms of his friends immediately diving toward them. "Hit the deck!"

The five members ducked as the ravens immediately began to peck at Brian's face. The Vessel didn't have any time to react as he tried to block their beaks with his hands. Stryker immediately ran up the steps, and leaped into the air, bearing her claws.

The ravens immediately flew up as Stryker landed on Brian's face. He tried to shake her off, but her claws were digging deeper and deeper into the mask that he was wearing.

"GET OFF ME YOU LITTLE RAT!" Brian screamed as he pushed him off. In doing so, Stryker was able to remove his mask and she immediately landed on her feet, the mask in her mouth.

Leonard noticed the mask was removed; the distraction was enough for Gangrel to get the upper hand and push him down onto the ground, placing his dagger onto the Guardian's throat.

"How do you like it now?!" Gangrel said. "I can't kill you, but with your little Vessel in his blurred state wouldn't know the difference. Now change him back! NOW!"

Stryker immediately stopped walking as she came to Adam, dropping the mask in front of his feet. Adam picked it up as he walked up to Leonard, anger was shown on his face.

"You monster." said Adam. "How dare you try to sic our friend to kill us!"

Leonard grinned, despite the arm bar that Gangrel was placing on him. "Try to hurt me, kid. You won't take Bri from me. I won't let you!"

At that Adam snapped. His eyes began to glow an emerald green as the trees started to reached their branches toward the Guardian.

"Um, Matt?" asked Jeff. "Are trees supposed to do that?"

"They aren't," said Matt. "But maybe we should get out of here."

As the Hardys ran for cover, Undertaker just stared at Adam. Something was strange about him, that was for sure...but what was it?

The roots of the trees immediately wrapped against Leonard's ankles as the branches from above tied his hands down, and stole his rapier. Adam could only grin in pleasure as he showed the Guardian his whip. Leonard started to sweat, fear shown in his face, seeing Adam's demonic grin.

"You will pay for what you have done!" said Adam, his voice laced with anger. "You have the audacity to try and control him for your own damn needs! I don't care if this is how Gaea intended it to be; you must pay!"

As Adam immediately cracked the whip against the Guardian's body, Jay and his group was attending to Brian. Picking up Randy's book, he started to read an incantation.

_Whether they have feathers, scales or fur_

_Return them to whom they originally were!_

In a puff of smoke, Randy, Paul and Ashley soon transformed back to their original human bodies.

"Aw," said Paul. "I still wanted to be a bird."

"Now's not the time," said Maria, seeing Brian unconscious. "That's strange, didn't Undertaker say that by removing the Remnant, his soul will return?"

"No, he just said that he'd be back to normal." said John in his wolf form. He tried to nudge Brian awake, but he wouldn't budge. He then tried licking him all over the face.

"John, this is not the time for puppy kisses." said Shannon, grabbing him by the neck. "We need to figure out how to wake him up."

Suddenly, Brian did just that. Slowly, he sat up, his blue-black eyes blankly staring at everyone. He tried standing up, but fumbled and fell on the ground. He looked past the remains of the altar in the Temple and stared to crawl toward it.

"I must find it..." He murmured. "I need...to find it....must...find it..."

"Brian!" Paul and Ashley immediately grabbed an arm and pulled him away; or at least, they tried to.

"Grab him!" said Shannon, as the group tried to pull him away. Jay was grabbing him by the hair when he saw something glimmer near the cracked altar.

"Look!" he cried as he immediately ran to the altar. He saw something near the keys; a small doll that was in the likeness of Brian. "Catch!" He hurled it all the way to John who immediately caught it in his mouth. He spat it out, the poor toy was now covered in wolf saliva.

"What the heck is this?" asked Mickie as she picked it up. "What would someone want with a doll of Brian?"

"That's a Soul Doll." said Randy. "They're used to house the soul of a specific person; there are two ways of going through it. First, they craft it by recreating the person and use something special of that person to bind them their. Or, the person creating them is very strong in magic and just create them out of the materials of nature. Clearly, since this is a Guardian we're talking about, then we're talking about the latter.

Brian slowly turned his head to see the doll, an insane grin was on his face as he immediately pushed everyone else off of him. He immediately grabbed Mickie's arm to reach the doll, while the girl was trying to make sure he didn't get it.

"I need it!" Brian cried out. "Give it to me!"

"You want it so much?!" Mickie cried out. "Fine!" She gave a good kick onto Brian's stomach and immediately hurled the doll right at him. The doll began to glow in a brilliant light as it started to sink into his body. Brian closed his eyes, then immediately opened them to see seven pairs of eyes stare at him.

"Um, what's going on?" he said. "And what am I doing here?"

They were interrupted from a loud scream that came from outside. They immediately rushed over to see Gangrel and Matt embrace a crying Jeff, and saw Undertaker trying to restrain an angry Adam. Adam's glowing green eyes were still staring at Leonard; the wooden binds on him had already banished. Many scars from the lashings Adam gave him covered his chest.

"How do you like that, huh?!" Adam screamed. "How do you like it when you get attacked?! HUH?!"

"Make it go away!" Jeff cried out, nuzzling deep into Matt's neck. "This isn't Adam! He's too scary to be Adam!"

Brian immediately went to the silent Leonard. "What are you doing?!" said John. "This guy brainwashed you so you could kill us!"

"That doesn't mean I don't understand what's going on!" Brian snapped at him. He gently lifted Leonard back onto his feet, removing his mask. He gasped in surprise at what he saw, Leonard could not see; his eyes had no iris or pupil, there was just two white glowing orbs.

"No!" Leonard cried out, trying to grab the mask Brian had placed on him. "Don't look..."

"That does make sense you know." said the Undertaker as Adam started to calm down. "He needed the ravens to be his eyes because he couldn't see."

"That's why Brian was mostly doing the attacking," said Adam. "He could only use his other senses to find all of us, and even then we outnumbered him."

"That's true," said Leonard, covering his eyes. "As the Guardian of Shadow, I can only see the truth by wandering in its loveliness. As I slept in that Temple, I could only imagine when I would be able to see my other-half, despite that I could not truly see. The ravens—my beautiful darlings—were the only ones who accepted me, and became my eyes and ears as I slept. Then you came along, Brian; you came along and I knew that you were my Vessel."

"But you didn't have to go through that whole amnesia thing," said Brian. "I would've been just fine with my memories intact.

"Amnesia? I never gave you amnesia?"

"Then who--" Brian stopped, as he snapped his fingers. "Damn it! It was Ariel and Kevin! They must be working for Darkness!"

"Darkness has returned?" Leonard yelled out. "This cannot be good."

"He has," said Gangrel, sheathing his dagger. "We were informed by the King of the Lupins that Darkness is slowly awakening, and all 6 Guardians must give their blessings in order for us to seal him away."

"And yet all you thought about was trying to kill all of us for the one you loved." Randy immediately had a hand clamped on his mouth when he said that.

"I am sorry," said Leonard, bowing his head. "But it appears that when Gaea split me apart, Darkness also added something. While the Vessel may be pure, the Guardian will be attracted to their Vessel and will do anything to take them away. Some may be gentle to them, others won't be. Then when the Vessel is in their grasp, their Remnant is placed on them, and their soul is then transferred into a Soul Doll. Once you remove the Remnant, and placed the Soul Doll into their body, then all is well."

"Yeah, it would've been helpful if we knew that BEFORE we got teleported here." Shannon then got bashed in the head by Mickie.

Leonard sighed as he raised a hand. "Please forgive me for the trouble I cause, and please tell Vega that I am alright."

"Vega?" asked Matt. "Who's that?"

"You'll know." said Leonard with a small smile. "Now, I need my Vessel to come forth."

Brian stepped forward to Leonard, placing his mask where it was before. Leonard then touched Brian's forehead, the upside down black crescent and diamond became branded there. Brian's eyes immediately began to glow as a pair of black raven wings grew from his back.

"Ahh....this power...I see...everything..." said Brian as Leonard retracted his hand.

"What do you see?" said Paul.

"I see something involving...involving a statue with chains." Brian murmured. "I think that's where we're supposed to go."

Leonard nodded his head. "Yes, head toward the village, and you will find two things that will be important for your journey. Now go...and let me be at peace."

"But how do we get out of here?" asked Ashley, looking back and forth. "It's never a good thing to be in here without light."

"How about this?" Undertaker showed Brian's Glow Ring as everyone disappeared in a flash of light. As the wind whispered softly once more, Leonard walked back into the ruins, staring down at the scattered keys. A tear fell from his eye.

"Gaea," He murmured. "Why did you torture us so? Why did you make all of us empty?"

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Lord David stared at Leonard as he heard Ariel snarl a bit.

"How dare they!" She said. "I thought my plan was foolproof; act innocent and then wipe his memories away."

"It was a good plan," said Lord David. "Except you did not expect the resourcefulness of the two blonde ones to get in the way of the plan."

"Those two are truly strange," said Kevin as he recalled the way Adam thought of the plan so quickly. "Something isn't right about those two."

Lord David nodded his head. "That is true; for now, I want you to rest. This next plan will need double the efforts..."

"And double the trouble."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 **

The Dream Circus, plus the Undertaker were soon back at the camping grounds. It appeared as nothing was touch as they had left.

"Hey!" said John, picking up a stick amongst the pile of wood that was there. "Leonard gave us a gift!"

"Sweet!" said Maria, throwing some of the sticks into the fire pit. "Now we can eat!"

Matt was about to blow a stream of fire when he turned to Adam. "Say Adam, what happened to you when you were attacking Leonard?"

Adam was stroking Stryker's fur when he heard that. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"Your eyes were glowing an emerald green, and then the trees started to move on their own!" said Jeff. "It was so scary, it was if you were a..a..."

"HEY!" Ashley cried out, interrupting Jeff. "Look at what Shannon can do!"

The three boys turned around to see Shannon Moore growing scales amongst his skin. The scales were a greyish color, covering his face as he opened his eyes to reveal yellow snake eyes.

"Wow," said Shannon. "Thissss is a ssssurprise that I've never sssseen before."

"This is interesting in itself," said Brian, testing out his new wings. "I wonder what else is in store."

As the 12 teenagers were talking, Undertaker grabbed Gangrel away from the group. He stared into the ring master's eyes as he spoke.

"You need to make sure you keep an eye on your performers." said the Undertaker. "Those 12 are the key to our future."

"I won't let anyone hurt my family," said Gangrel. "These children were abandoned, or abused where they lived and I was the only one who could give them a home. I will not let them down, and I will not let that bastard try to kill them!"

"I understand, I too would want to do anything to protect my loved ones. I must get going, perhaps one day I'll tell you my story." Undertaker closed his eyes as he was bathed in a purple glow, slowly vanishing in front of the Ringmaster's eyes.

Gangrel stared at what was once the area where Undertaker stood. He heard someone calling him as he turned to find the fire lit and the smell of food wafting in the air. He smiled to himself as he walked toward his family. In his mind was memories of him with a small boy with a big grin on his face; a tear fell down his eyes as he remembered...

The boy was dead...and it was all his fault.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

_Who is this Vega that Leonard was talking about?_

_What does Lord David have in store for the Dream Circus?_

_What is so special about this "statue in chains" in Brian's vision?_

_And who was that boy from Gangrel's memory?_

_All this and more in the next chapter!_

_Until then, read and review!_


	6. Ara, The Altar

_Well, the first Guardian out of six is done! But we're not going to be serious all the time! Let's take a break!_

_Right now, it's our first break in the story!_

_ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ _

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**Masquerade in the Night**

**by Green Phantom Queen**

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**Chapter 6-Ara, The Altar**

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As the Dream Circus celebrated in Brian and Shannon gaining new powers, it had become apparent to Gangrel on one thing.

What had he gotten them into?

He sighed as he drank a small pint of ale; ever since he stared the Dream Circus with Paul, Brian, Ashley and Maria, he never thought it would grow into something big. Sure, it made him happy that he had a huge and happy family...but at the same time, the worry that he wouldn't be able to save them still got to him.

"Anything wrong?" Gangrel turned around to see Jeff's smiling face at him. "You look down."

Gangrel shrugged it off. "It's nothing, young one." He then stared at Brian who was trying to fly off from the ground. Unfortunately, Brian could go only about 5 feet before he fell down on the ground.

"Are you alright?" Ashley asked the Vessel of Shadows as he got up. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," said Brian, wincing a bit. "I just need to rest."

"We _**all**_ need rest." said Shannon. "We're heading off to the next town in three days."

"Where are we heading?" asked Randy. John, who had returned to his human form, looked at map Shannon was staring at.

"Uh...." he said. "It's nowhere important; we're heading off for a break right now."

"A break?" Adam exclaimed. "But Jay and I just got here!"

"Yeah, but after what happened tonight—and the night before—we all need rest." said Mickie. "I heard there was this place called the Dowell Spring that was near here."

"Cool!" said Jay. "What better way to rest than a beautiful pond?"

"But until then, it's bed time." said Maria, dousing the fire out with a bucket of water. "If we're even going to get to the Spring, we might as well get some rest."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Morning time came too quickly for the members of the Dream Circus. Everything was packed, as Gangrel rode on the horse-drawn wagon. He clicked his teeth as Luna and the other horses started to trot down the road.

It was at this time that Adam and Jay learned a specific rule about traveling with the Circus: finders keepers. Each member of the Circus had their own ride whenever they traveled, and they were each responsible for them all. The twins saw different types of animals that was housed by the Circus: gryphons for the girls, two young dragons for Matt and Jeff, Randy was on top of a black panther while Shannon was on a giant wurm. John usually rode with Randy, but due to the acceptance of his wolf form, he decided to walk on all four paws. Paul was riding on a silver cloud-like chariot while Brian opted to use his newly-acquired wings.

Now the question was which mounts were Adam and Jay taking?

"Why not take the sphinxes?" Jay suggested. "Terrah and Ven do seem to get along with us."

"I don't know," said Adam. "Terrah's still suffering from that wounded paw."

"Aw, come on!" Said Jay, dragging his brother to the snoozing sphinxes. "It'll be fine."

"It better be." said Adam, mounting on top of Terrah. The winged lioness immediately woke up when she felt on her back. She was about to growl when she felt Adam pat her head.

"There, there." said Adam as Terrah started to purr in delight. "I don't want to hurt you, but we need to get going."

Terrah let out a yawn as she started to walk; Ven immediately followed suite as Jay immediately got on top of him.

"So where the heck is this Dowell Spring place, Mickie?" asked Maria as she was brushing away a silver feather from her gryphon.

"I heard there was some sort of stone structure that's past the Chopi Woods, and near the Fantasia River." Mickie explained. "The River is what brings in the pure water into the spring. And it's said that if you heat it to a right temperature and just rest in it, it relieves all your stress away. And drinking a cup of it is said to make your skin silky smooth!"

"Wow..." said Ashley, imagining herself having that type of complexion. "It sounds so cool!"

"Unfortunately," Mickie continued. "That stone structure is the key in getting inside the Spring. It can only be unlocked by someone...someone whose heart is able to withstand the wickedness and corruption of greed. Should it open, for that person...then we're in."

"That's easy!" said Jay. "We'll get there and soak our worries away!"

"Keep thinking that and you'll be in hot water." Gangrel muttered.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

"WHAT IS THIS?!"

The villagers of Adagi saw the figures of two young boys with long blonde hair nab away with a small burlap sack. A young woman raised her staff as vines started to grow from the ground grabbing onto their ankles. The two twins grinned at each other as one brought out a Sphere that had a black cloud in it.

"Heads up!" He slammed it onto the ground as a giant cloud of smoke covered the area. The villagers covered their mouths, as to not breathe in the toxic fumes.

"Smoke, be gone!" A young girl raised a hand and a wind sucked the smoke away. When the sight was clear, the boys were gone...and so was something else.

"LOOK!" An elder villager cried. "The Statue!"

Everyone turned to see the statue. It was a beautiful woman bound by chains lifting something in the air; actually, she _**was**_ lifting something in the air, but that something was stolen!

A harsh laughter filled the air as the sky amongst Adagi started to darken. A black carriage, drawn by a white horse soon made its way to the village. As it stopped at the statue, the carriage door opened up. A woman stepped out; voluptuous wasn't the right word to express her though. She was wearing a black dress at least 2 sizes too big, red hair falling down her face and a massive amount of makeup was on her already horrid face.

"Lady Vickie," One of the women snarled. "How dare you show your face in front of us!"

Vickie smirked, showing the hideous smirk that was on her face. "Yes, and don't you forget it. And what's all this?" She pointed at the statue in chains. "I notice that _**it's**_ gone."

"No thanks to you!" Before Vickie could react she was tackled to the ground by a magician in a pink robe. Unlike some of the other magicians, the robe had an image of a cherry on the back; everyone had known her to be known as Cherry because of that. "How dare you try and take your damn snide remarks at us! While Alle thrives, we all suffer!"

Vickie smirked as Cherry was immediately pushed away by an invisible force. She fell to the ground as her brother Deuce, and boyfriend Domino came in. Both of the men were seething in anger.

"How about a little crack 'dem in the mouth?" said Deuce, charging up to Vickie. Unfortunately, all he got was a hand that caught his fist. It was from Vickie's 'enforcer', Bam Neely.

"Let him go!" Chery cried out, brandishing a pink wand tipped with a ruby. "Let him go or I"ll blast you into the ground!"

Bam gave an evil grin as Domino turned around to see Chavo—Vickie's nephew—tackle him onto the ground. While that happened, Cherry started to back away as Vickie inched closer and closer to her.

"Now, what were you saying?" said Vickie, bringing out a small black wand of her own. "Do I detect a magic duel?"

Cherry's eyes narrowed as a blast of pink magic came from her wand. Vickie immediately deflected it with a black shield. Cherry growled as she sent 5 more bolts of energy at the woman, only to have them be deflected.

"Face it," said Vickie. "You're weak!"

"I'm not weak," said Cherry with a smirk on her face. "You're just stupid!"

Just as Vickie was about to say something, she felt a blast of power hit her from behind. She fell and turned around, to see another woman—wearing a blue spellcaster robe to reveal her legs, a sky blue pointed hat, and a blue wanted tipped with a star—staring down at her. A big smile was on her face though.

"YAY!" The girl squealed. "I did it, Cherry! I did it!"

"That's nice and all, Kelly." said Cherry. "But we have to finish her off now!"

Kelly nodded as the two spellcasters pointed their wands at Vickie. Before they could, chains and 4 pairs of handcuffs from underground wrapped against their arms and legs, pulling them until they hit the ground.

"Damn it!" Cherry cried out. "These are Spell Chains! They only work on people who are about to summon spells; the worse part is that they won't let go unless...unless..."

"Unless you have this!" Vickie stood up, showing the key to them. "This key is the only thing that will make me release my hold on you."

"Cherry!" Deuce said, trying to push Bam Neely off of him.

"Get your dirty hands off of my sister you witch!" Domino snarled, trying to grab his sister's hand. "Hurt one hair on her head and I'll teach you to NEVER mess with us!"

"That's easier said than done." said Vickie, getting inside the carriage. "Without that item, you're going to go bye-bye. Then you're going to need my protection."

That got everyone in the village to jeer at her. Cherry and Kelly could only stare at both Deuce and Domino as their chains were being grasped by Chavo and Bam.

"EXCUSE ME!" Vickie yelled to the crowd. All it did was cause everyone to yell and jeer louder. "I said, 'EXCUSE ME!'" Everyone started to die now, seeing the fury in Vickie's eyes. The woman smiled to herself as she continued.

"Now, as you can see, your sacred item is gone; I can protect you, but you're going to have to cough up 5 clefas a day for my protection.

"FIVE clefas?!" One of the woman, Gertrude Vachon yelled. "None of us even HAVE that much money!"

"Then I guess you can just let your whole town fall into more despair than it is already." Vickie sneered. "Let's get these two down into the dungeon; they'll be excellent servants."

Cherry and Kelly screamed in pain as the carriage started to pull away. Deuce and Domino began to follow them, but were only stopped by Gertrude.

"We can't lose you two to that bitch." Gertrude said to the boys. "We need everyone here as we wait for the one who can help us!"

"Who can help us at this point?!" Deuce snapped. "My chick's been kidnapped!"

"We need to wait for her son to appear again; only he can save us."

"Who?" Domino asked the woman. He then paused as he slowly stared at Gertrude. "You don't mean..."

Gertrude nodded. "Eliza's son; he ran away from the village 3 years ago in order to...free himself from the horrid curse that Vickie planted in his mind. But I sense that he'll come back..."

"He needs to come back."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 **

It had been two whole hours since the Dream Circus had left the Chopi Woods; Mickie was reading the map in finding the stone statue that would lead the way to the Spring.

"There it is!" She said, as everyone stopped. "That's the entrance!"

Everyone soon dismounted as they followed up with Mickie all the way to the marker; unfortunately, Mickie was the fastest out of all of them, and even Brian—with his newly acquired wings—had troubles keeping up.

"Mickie, slow down!" Shannon cried out. "We're going to tire out before we even _**get**_ to the springs!"

Mickie immediately stopped at the marker; everyone else soon crashed into her. Brian, on the other hand, floated down gracefully, his wings magically disappearing in a flurry of black dust.

"This is it!" Said Mickie, reading an encryption. "It says here, that only a person of...of nature can unlock the entrance to the Spring."

"Leave it to me!" said Brian, placing a hand upon the stone. "I am a Vessel after all."

"A vessel full of hot air," Randy muttered while Jeff laughed a bit.

Brian closed his eyes as Shadow insignia appeared on his forehead. Nothing was said for a few seconds until he stepped away. "Darn it, it won't let me in."

"Let me try!" said Jay placing a hand on the stone. "I think I can do it!"

"Jay, I don't think--" Maria stopped as a brilliant blue light engulfed Jay. For a split second, she thought she had seen a blue tunic and a crown of coral perched on his head as the scenery around the Circus started to dissolve. The outside of the Chopi Woods was replaced with a lush forest, and a beautiful pool of water was shown in front of them, sparkling like a mirror. Flowers and grass grew around their feet and in the air was the scent of something sweet.

"Wow..." Matt gasped out. "How the heck did you do that Jay?"

"Do what?" Jay asked, turning around.

"You-you just activated the stone to take us to the spring!" Paul exclaimed. "What are you?"

"Easy!" Jay said with an innocent smile. "I'm Jay, juggler for the Dream Circus and—as mom calls me—the blessed one of the Guardian of Water!"

Everyone looked at Adam. "Mom just gave us that, like a parent would give us pet names." Adam muttered. "She basically called us that because of how we loved those stories about them."

"Enough time for stories!" said Jeff, removing his shirt. "Let's swim!" He immediately rushed into the water. "GERONIMO!!!!!!!!!!!!"

With a splash, Jeff cannonballed right into the water, splashing not only the members of the Circus, but the animals also.

Gangrel spat out the water that got in his mouth before smacking his lips. "Hmm...not bad...nasty aftertaste though."

Matt walked up to Jeff, turning a shade of red as he saw a pair of black boxers with flames on it float to him. "Um, Jeff...you're naked."

"Huh?" Jeff looked down under the water, immediately turning a shade of red also. "Aw, man..." He immediately swam up to grab his boxers and put them on underwater.

Adam started to roll on the floor laughing. "Stop it!" He said, clutching his sides. "I think I'm going to blow a gasket."

"Really, now?" Jay said, rolling his eyes. "Maybe I should show everyone those boxers with the kitty paws Mom gave you!"

Adam immediately tackled his brother onto the ground, covering his mouth with a hand. "Don't you dare bring that up!" He hissed. "Or else I"ll bring up your boxers with the lightning bolts on them! Better yet..."

Everyone immediately turned to see Adam strip Jay down until all they saw were white boxers with blue lightning bolts printed on them. Jay immediately retaliated by tearing down Adam's shirt and pants; Stryker ran from Terrah and tackled Adam down as to help Jay strip him down.

"Stop it!" Adam said, as Jay started to tickle him. "Please...don't...DON'T!"

Adam could only laugh as his younger brother pulled down his brother's pants to reveal his pair of kitty paw-printed boxers. As Adam started to become beet red, Jay began to laugh, and then the rest of the Circus started to laugh. Gangrel managed to wipe a tear in his eye from him laughing so hard.

"I've...never...seen...something like that..." He couldn't finish the rest as it was lost in a sea of laughter. Adam and Jay looked at each other, looked at Stryker then stared at each other.

"ATTACK!" They immediately charged at the group, immediately ripping off the clothes of Randy, Paul and Shannon until they were all in their boxers (Randy was wearing black ones with white lines similar to branches, Paul's was white that had the initials PK on his right leg while Shannon's had a pattern similar to a reptile's).

John stared at Randy. "Nice boxers." For that, he was immediately pushed into the water.

"Wait for me!" said Matt, peeling off his clothes, to reveal a pair of black boxers with blue flames on it. "Cannonball!"

Ashley, Maria and Mickie immediately dove in while the rest of the boys followed. Immediately after that Gangrel was splashed with a wave of water.

"Hey!" Gangrel turned around to see Adam and Jay pulling on his arms to drag him into the water. "Come on! The water's fine!"

"I won't!" said Gangrel with a smirk on his face. "You won't make me!"

"Meow!" Gangrel turned his head for a split-second just in time to see Stryker tackle him all the way into the water and the two fell with another small splash. The ringleader poked his head out of the water as he began to shove some water to the boys.

"Water fight!" Shannon cried as the group immediately started to toss water at each other.

But while everyone else was getting caught up in their game, Matt noticed something sparkling under the water. Taking a deep breath, he dove down, letting his legs do the work for him as he pushed deeper and deeper as he saw something shine a bright red. It was a rose shaped from crystal and it fascinated him.

Using all his strength, he immediately grabbed it and went up to the surface, only to get splashed in the face by Jeff.

"Hey!" said the younger Hardy, noticing the trinket in Matt's hand. "What'd you got there?"

"Looks like a Crystal Rose." said Ashley, staring at it. "I read that these are said to be very high-priced in the black market. They're rare to find, because they only grow in areas of pure water. This spring is so pure and clean that it's perfect for the plant to grow here. Once they're in full bloom, they have magical properties."

"Like what?" said John, shaking off any excess water that might've gotten into his ears.

"Not sure." said Ashley. "I never got to that part."

"Whatever they are," said Gangrel, swimming up to Matt. "We better take it along with us, it might come in handy." He then stared down at his newly wet clothes. "And maybe get our clothes dried."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 **

Upon reaching the dungeons, Kelly and Cherry were both pushed inside, the doors slamming in front of them.

"Great," said Cherry. "If only we had access to our powers."

"Cherry? Is that you?"

Cherry turned to see the relieved faces of Candace, Torrie and Michelle stare at them. The pink spellcaster immediately hugged her friends as tears fell down her eyes.

"Thank goodness you're alright!" She said. "How have you been doing?"

"Better than usual," said Michelle. "That bitch is forcing us to do all her dirty work; she won't let us go until her whole list of stuff is done."

"But she's always making excuses and prolonging our fate as to break us down." Candace added. "Either way, she's going to try and complete the ceremony."

"What ceremony?" Kelly asked nervously.

"Do you remember that old story about the Saint of Witches?" Torrie asked, showing a drawing of the statue in chains. Kelly nodded her head.

"Remember the sacred item in her hands?" Kelly nodded sadly.

"It got taken away by some thieves." said Cherry, pointing to a part of the drawing. "Those thieves must be in league with that bitch."

"That was all part of the prophecy, though." said Michelle. "The sacred treasure of the statue in chains will be taken away by those in gold. And then, 8 maidens in her power she will hold. When the son of a witch returns from his stay, he will come and save the day."

"...that's too cheesy." said Cherry.

"But it's the only hope we have." said Candace. "She needs 3 more powerful maidens to summon....summon _**him**_...."

The other girls flinched at Candace's statement.

"You don't mean..." Candace nodded her head when Torrie spoke up. "But that means..."

"She's wanting to obtain her power." said Candace. "And only Eliza's son can save him, that's what the prophecy was talking about."

"You mean Elizabeth's son?!" Kelly shrieked out. "The same son that was named after his father?! But...but that means..."

"Yes, the husband was a bit _savage_." Michelle said sarcastically. "But his son's the only one we have to save us..."

"If that is, if he can save himself first."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 **

"Lunch time!" Ashley called, setting some food out on a table. Maria and Mickie placed some food for the animals, petting them each on the head as they ate the delicacies in front of them.

Jay poked his head out of the water, able to smell the food wafting in the air. "Mmmm....." Soon enough, everyone else caught a scent of the aroma.

The girls mentally counted to themselves. 3...2...1..

Immediately, the table was filled with the rest of the circus members getting out of the water. Gangrel was already wringing out water out of his hair when the younger members of the circus were already sitting down.

"All right!" Jay cried out, seeing the girls ladle down hot bowls of soup. "This is going to be an awesome meal!"

"Thanks to the water in the spring, it'll be one of the best we had in a long time." said Mickie, pouring out glasses of water to the men.

Brian was about to say something, when the mark on his forehead appeared...his eyes started to glow as he saw a vision of a horse drawn carriage taking away two young women who were bound by chains. He blinked his eyes as he held his head.

"Guys..." He said. "I got something about that place."

"You mean that place with the statue in chains?" Matt asked him.

Brian nodded his head. "I saw two girls being taken away by black chains. They looked like witches."

Randy immediately spat out the water he was drinking. "Did you say witches?!"

"I think that's what he said," said Paul. "What are you worried about anyway?"

Randy closed his eyes as he stared at his family. "That's the village of Adagi; my hometown."

"You're a warlock?!" Adam said, immediately backing away from the spellcaster.

Randy could only nod his head as he turned away. "I was born in the village of Adagi, home to witches and warlocks. I grew up having the ability to see and summon spirits; a rare ability that is said to be very dangerous. My father left on a journey and hasn't returned, while my mother took care of me. But one day...one day my mother was taken away...all I could do was just see her die in front of my eyes, despite of the help the villagers tried to do bring about to save her. I tried calling out to her, but my mom told me not to. She said that she wanted me to grow up big and strong, and...and to just explore the world."

"That's how you met up with us 3 years ago." said Matt. "You came to us about after the time me, Jeff and Shannon came along."

"Since we are heading off to Adagi, and seeing Brian's visions, then it's most likely time for you to return home." Gangrel took a sip of the spring water, wincing a bit from the aftertaste.

Randy stared at his reflection in the water and then stared at everyone else. "You're right, let's go."

"Can we at least eat our food first?" John whined. "I'm hungry!"

**0 0 0 0 0 0 **

Vickie stared at the five divas trapped in the dungeon through her mirror. A devilish grin was on her face as she started to look at the two young blonde boys. One of them showed the burlap sack and handed it to the evil queen.

"You two will be paid for your efforts," she said, tossing 20 clefas at the boys. "Take them; there's more where that came from."

"Thank you, your highness." said one of the boys. "We will serve you for all eternity."

"Thank you." said the queen. Suddenly the image in the mirror vanished, replacing it with the covered face of Lord David.

"Lady Vickie, I assume that the mission was successful?" Vickie only brought out the item from the sack and showed it to the man. It was glowing in a soft light.

"Excellent." Lord David's face had a small smirk on it. "Phase 1 of our plan is complete; Phase 2 will commence soon. Have the people in the village be invited to a grand festival in Alle for tomorrow night. Invite everyone in the village, and make sure you have some entertainment around."

"The entertainment in this kingdom is so boring." Vickie whine a bit. "There's nothing to watch."

"Is that right? How about this?"

Then, the mirror split into two; the second mirror began to show a group of travelers and their animals walking amongst the dirt road. Vickie's eyes stared onto the one riding the black panther.

"WHAT?!" She screamed, her voice echoing across the throne room. "HE'S STILL ALIVE?!"

"He's part of the group that has obtained Leonard's blessing." Lord David explained. "And he is part of the prophecy. He is the only one that stops him from our plans."

"We won't let that happen!" Said Chavo. "We'll make sure we kill them."

"You can't kill all of them," said Lord David. "You only have 5 of the 8 victims needed. The last three are here; gather them all up, and take them in...then drain their energies with the spell and that power will be ours!"

Vickie then stared at her reflection at the object, her form slowly changing until she was nothing more than a bunch of shadows...but that evil and hideous smirk still remained.

"Oh yes." She said. "With this item and those women...NOBODY shall stand in my way."

She ended it with an evil cackle that bounced against the hall of the room.

"Does this mean we can leave?" said one of the younger blonde twins.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Back in the village of Adagi, the villagers were already preparing any and all magic items they had in their grasp. They knew that danger was about to come, and they need to eradicate it quickly.

Deuce and Domino were on lookout when Gertrude cried out, "There's something coming toward us!"

Victoria, brandishing a wand tipped with a gem that had a white spider design on it yelled, "Man your stations! We're about to strike!"

Everyone in the village brought out a wand, each of them glowing in a different colored light. But as they were about to strike, they were stopped by a boy riding a black panther.

"Stop!" The boy shouted. "It's me! I'm back!"

Gertrude's eyes widened in shock as she saw the boy head toward them. "Randy?" she said to herself. "It can't be..."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 **

_Who were the two boys that were in the village of Adagi?_

_What was the item they stole from the statue in chains?_

_What is Vickie's plan?_

_And what is the prophecy concerning Randy?_

_All this and more in the next chapter!_

_Until then, read and review!_


	7. Crux, The Southern Cross

_Well! We're at lucky 7 and we are on a roll! Let's continue this lucky streak!_

_And by the way, this chapter and next chapter will have things based on "Scooby Doo and the Witch's Ghost" and "Scooby Doo and the Goblin King" which are EXCELLENT! I would like to thank Hanna-Barbera for these ideas!_

_So, on with the show!_

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**Masquerade in the Night**

**by Green Phantom Queen**

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**Chapter 7-Crux, the Southern Cross**

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Gertrude couldn't believe her eyes as she saw Randy approach them. The young boy skidded to a halt, letting himself get down and hug the woman.

"Aunt Gertrude!" He said, hugging her. "I missed you so much!"

"This woman is your aunt?" said Adam in surprise. He shuddered a bit when he saw what was on the woman's face. There were tattoos of thorns—or veins, whatever they were—that crept around the left side of her face, and she was buff. Everyone else nearly flinched when they saw Gertrude's arms wrap against Randy's small frame.

"Dear boy." said Gertrude, releasing the hug. "It's been three years....what have you been doing?"

"I've...been in a circus." said Randy.

"A CIRCUS?!" Deuce yelled. Randy saw Deuce and Domino from behind Gertrude.

"Oh, hey Cliff. And hello to you too, Jimmy." said Randy, waving a hand at them.

"Don't you dare tell us that kind of stuff, man!" said Domino, giving him apat on the back. "It's great to see you back in Adagi."

"Yeah, I guess it i---WHAT THE HELL?!" Randy cried out, seeing the statue in chains. "You can't be serious...it's missing?!"

"Um, what's exactly missing?" said Jay, looking past him. "It looks fine to me."

The rest of the circus turned to see the so-called statue in chains. It was of a beautiful young woman with a determined look on her face, wearing a long gown that went down to her ankles. Like its namesake, it was trapped in chains that wrapped around her torso and lower body. Her hands were lifted up, as if she was about to be given something.

"No, it's not good!" Randy cried out. "The Orb of Dawn! It's gone!"

"That does explain my vision." said Brian, rubbing his chin.

"Oh yeah!" said Randy, stepping aside. "In all this excitement, I haven't introduced the rest of the Circus. First off, here's the ringmaster Gangrel."

"A pleasure to meet you all." said Gangrel, bowing to them. "Especially you." He bent down and kissed Gertrude's hand, who only responded with a small blush on her cheeks.

"Here's Paul and Brian, the jesters." London and Kendrick struck a pose, Brian's black mark glowing on his forehead.

"What's that on his forehead?" asked Domino, pointing to the mark.

"Long story, I'll tell it later." said Randy, pushing Domino's hand away. "And as I was saying, we have the three ladies of the Circus: Ashley, the trapeze artist; Maria the dancer; and Mickie the contortionist."

The three ladies bowed to them.

"These two are Matt and Jeff, the fire dancers. And here's Shannon, our snake charmer."

"Nice to meet you." said Matt, shaking Deuce's hand. "Just be careful not to give my brother sugar; trust me, don't do it."

"Aww, I'm not that bad. Am I?" asked Jeff, with a small pout on his face.

"Let's put it in this perspective," said Shannon. "You got the animals so freaked out that you got both Terrah and Ven to not get out of those trees they were stuck in 5 months ago."

"So that's why the trees fell down." said Jeff, recalling the memory. "But on the bright side, it wasn't that hard for us to get firewood that evening."

"This is John." said Randy, placing an arm around his friend. "He's the prince of the Lupins!"

"And I am honored to be at this village." Said John. "My father would have loved to see it."

"It's nice," said Gertrude. "But what about those two?" She pointed to Adam and Jay when she asked that question.

"These two are Adam and Jay." said Randy. "Adam's the lion tamer, and Jay is our juggler. They're our newest recruits."

Randy then heard a small mew near his feet; it was Stryker.

"Oh, and their pet Felus, Stryker." The small kitten purred in delight hearing that.

"Nice to meet you!" said Jay, taking Deuce's hand into his. "It's a lovely place...maybe they have a couple of Spheres I could buy?"

"You mean like that Smoke Sphere you used?!" Jay turned around to get a blast of a glowing web wrap around his body. He fell to the ground with an "oof" as he saw Victoria—wearing a black witch's outfit—come toward him.

"Victoria!" said Gertrude. "Hold your fire! These two aren't the same boys from earlier."

"We'll just see about that." Victoria placed her spider gem-tipped scepter in front of Jay's face. "Now tell me, where is the Orb of Dawn?"

"What's that?" said Jay. "I just came here, Randy blurted it was gone, and then we've just finished introduction."

"He's right." said Gangrel. "Now if you excuse us, I would like my juggler not bound up by a web."

"Tch." said Victoria, tapping the web with her staff. The web started to slowly disintegrate as Jay slowly got up.

Gertrude looked at Gangrel. "Please forgive her; she's still a bit edgy since we lost the Orb of Dawn."

"She's not the only one, Auntie." said Deuce. "We're all edgy; Lady Vickie has it and if we don't get it back, we will all suffer."

"Perhaps we should hear this story when we are away from any spies that this Lady Vickie might have for us," said Gangrel. "It'll let us have time to rest; we've been walking for 3 hours straight."

Suddenly a harsh screech filled the air. The group looked up as a black bird circled around them.

"Not another raven!" Maria cried out. "We just got through at least 50 of them last night!"

The bird then dropped something at their feet; it was a letter sealed with black wax, stamped with the insignia of a "G" on it.

"Lady Vickie's seal." Domino snarled. "That bitch is going to pay!"

Gertrude picked it up, ripping the letter open to find a fancy invitation. It read:

_**Come one and all!**_

_**The village of Adagi is invited for a splendid evening in the royal kingdom of Alle**_

_**The festivities start Tomorrow Evening, please show spirit by dressing up!**_

_**All entertainers welcome! Best entertainment gets a 500 clefa prize!**_

_**Signed, Lady Vickie, Queen of Noir**_

"500 Clefas?!" Matt and Jeff said simultaneously.

"That'll cover expenses for 5 months!" Mickie cheered, bouncing up and down.

"Now we won't have to worry about food or new supplies!" Said Paul. "We can sit back, relax, and..."

"We're not going to go there to win, Paul." said Gangrel, interrupting the Latino. "This is obviously a trap; if this Lady Vickie has the Orb of Dawn, no doubt there's going to be something she wants to do with it."

Randy just stared blankly past the village, the wind whistled slightly as he drowned out all the noise that was going on. He looked past the houses, the villagers, the food, the clouds hanging above the hills. He was staring at the silhouetted figure of a wooden cross...

The same one that his mother burned on 3 years ago.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Gertrude led the Dream Circus downstairs into the cellar of her house; Deuce, Domino and Victoria kept watch for any sighs of changes in the village.

"There's a story that goes with the Saint of Witches, and how Randy is involved with this." said Gertrude. "Around the beginning of time, there was a beautiful couple. There was a woman named Sarah, and her beloved husband Mark."

"MARK?!" said the whole Circus.

"Wait a minute, whose Mark?" said Brian.

"The tall guy with the black hat and coat." said Shannon. "You know, the one that took us to you when you got lost in the Chopi Woods."

"Oh yeah...." said Brian.

"As I was saying," Gertrude continued. "Sarah was a descendant of dryads, using herbs and medicines to heal the sick. But her husband was a Reaper, part of the Undead. The two were in love, but people started to hate the relationship they had. So one evening, as Sarah was walking out of the village to deliver some medicine to an ill patient, she was attacked. She couldn't call for help, so she brought forth an empty Sphere glass which began to shine in a bright light. Unfortunately, despite her efforts in calling for help, she was caught in a petrification spell and turned into stone. The chains were added to make sure that she wouldn't move after she was freed from her stony prison."

"The Sphere was known as the Orb of Dawn because of how it shined like the sun. It didn't transform into stone like everything else. Rather, it was stuck in Sarah's hands and shined in a light that has been a sign to protection for all of us. She became the Saint of Witches, due to her strong magic skills and kindness. Her husband Mark, however vanished."

"No he hasn't!" said Jay. "We just met up with him last night! He helped us fight Leonard when he was about to kill us!"

"Did you say Leonard?!" Gertrude got up. "Does this mean what I think it means? That Darkness is about to awaken?

Ashley nodded her head. "Yeah, we just got his blessing and were sent to receive the other 5. This Orb of Dawn might sound like a Relic needed for one of the Temples."

"It is actually," said Gertrude. "It's the Relic for the Temple of Light; but it's also known for having powerful magic in it. I believe that Lady Vickie knew what it was and might be trying to summon..._**him**_..."

"Who's him?" asked John.

Gertrude's face showed horror as she spoke. "The angel of darkness, Lucifer..."

"But that's impossible!" Randy exclaimed. "you need 8 pure, virtuous female souls to do the ritual. And even then, if you can't stomach the power you're gone!"

"Lady Vickie has 5 of the souls that are needed, and I think she sees the three ladies of the Circus as the ones she needs to finish the summoning." Gertrude explained. "If we don't stop her plan by tomorrow evening, then we all die."

"We have to think of something before we lose that Relic!" said Adam, getting on his feet. "We need to stop that bitch, because I feel there's something about her that even she's hiding from us."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Randy.

Adam stared at Randy seriously. "I think she's the one that killed your mom and burned her at stake."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Jay was drawing stuff amongst the dirt with a stick; Stryker was clawing at it, trying to dig up some weeds.

"This is not good." he muttered to himself. "I'm sitting here with nothing to do while everyone else is setting up stuff for the tomorrow's 'big act'. I mean, I'm good also, and yet I want to help in some way."

Stryker mewed a bit, and crept into Jay's lap.

"Thanks," he said. "But I still wish there was a way to infiltrate the castle but still make it seem like everything's normal. There's going to be high security, and knights, and magic crystals...I mean, it's not like I can sneak in there as a girl...wait a minute..."

He immediately picked up Stryker and rushed to find his brother working with Terrah and Ven.

"ADAM!" Jay cried out, nearly tackling his brother. "I have an idea!"

"Really, what is it?" Jay smiled as he started drawing some items with his stick.

"All we have to do is this, then that, and we'll be able to go here and then stop her from doing the ritual!" Jay said, panting for breath. Adam stared at the plan for a couple of minutes than smirked.

"You know," he said to his brother. "That actually might work. But we better confirm it with the others."

"Oh come on," said Jay. "They already treat us like the co-leaders of the Circus! Do you not remember our genius plans since we've been here?"

"You do have a point." said Adam.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Nighttime fell in Adagi as the Dream Circus were starting to prepare their meal. Adam and Jay had drawn up their plans and handed a couple of scrolls to the rest of the group.

"We've got something for tomorrow's festivities!" said Jay, with a big smile on his face. "These are the plans we'll use to get back the Orb of Dawn!"

Adam unraveled the first scroll. "Step one: we get a Camouflage Sphere and use it on three guys and Ashley, Mickie and Maria. We use it to disguise ourselves as each other so Vickie will immediately think different."

"What's that supposed to mean?" said Maria, cocking her head to the side.

"It means, that you'll become a guy, and a guy will become you." said Jeff. "Then Vickie will capture the guys while you guys will be safe."

"Ohhhhhh...." said Maria. "That makes sense."

"Step two," said Jay, unraveling the second scroll. "While the three guys distract Vickie, the three girls will find the dungeon where the other 5 spell casters are staying at. Since they are wrapped in Spell Chains, we'll just have to use this."

He pulled out something from a pouch he carried and showed it to the Circus. It was a small key made of glass, shining like the colors of a rainbow.

"A Prism Key." said Matt, sarcastically. "You're going to save 5 girls with Spell Chains by using a Prism Key."

"You don't realize it do you?" said Jay, shaking his head. "Vickie must have the real key, but a Prism Key can transform to any key that is required with locks. The Spell Chains require a lock, so we just place the Prism Key near the chains..."

"And then the key will transform into the Spell Chain key!" John finished. "That way the girls can escape!"

"Exactly." said Jay. "While that's happening, all we have to do is distract Vickie long enough for the girls to escape with the Orb of Dawn."

"She'll most likely want the girls to go first." Adam added. "So all we have to do is distract her long enough with our performances then we can leave. And if things ever go wrong, Gangrel will use any magic at his disposal to make sure we get out safe and sound."

"That all sounds good," said Gangrel. "But there's one thing you're missing."

"What's that?" asked the twins.

"The timing." said the ringmaster. "We need to time it so well, that from the minute we step foot into the castle to the time we leave it has to be perfect. We'll also need reinforcements to combat them, and we'll need a plan B if this doesn't work."

"If plan A gets awry in different areas then we have other solutions." said Jay, pulling out a giant sack. "I bought a couple of spheres from the reward money Batista gave me. I have the Camouflage Sphere, a Paranoia Sphere, my very own Starry, a Shifty Sphere, and a Feather Sphere. If we're in a jam, we'll use them!"

"And what about me?" said Randy. "You didn't say what I was going to do!"

"Oh yeah." said Adam. "Look, we don't want you to get hurt but..."

"Oh so now I'm no longer part of the group, huh?!" Randy yelled at Adam. "I want to beat up that bitch just like everyone in the village does! I should at least be there! Don't forget, this is my prophecy and my village that's going to be in trouble if I don't do anything!"

"Now, Randy." said Jay. "We didn't forget you. Since you're a witch's son, then your mom must've left you some stuff at your old house. Before we head off tomorrow, head back there and gather everything you can find."

Randy wanted to say something, but the thought of his mother's death was still in his mind. "All right," he said. "But before we leave, I want to confirm about who killed my mother. If Vickie did it, then she's in trouble."

"We're here for your support." said Mickie. "Just don't try and beat her up too badly; we need to be able to send her to jail in one piece."

Randy smiled at that thought. "Yeah..."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 **

Vickie was rather cross as she saw the Dream Circus falling asleep. She tried to hone in on their conversation, but they must've figured out that she might've been spying on them. What was worse, was that she had found out that one of them was a Vessel; that would surely cause a dent in her plans.

"My lady," said Bam Neely, as he bowed to her. "What shall we do with those hooligans?"

"We'll do nothing for now." said Vickie. "We'll just wait and see what they have in store for us."

"But Vickie!" said Chavo, rushing up to her. "Do you not realize the consequences that will happen by not being prepared?"

"Silence!" snapped Vickie. "I am one of the most powerful sorcerers in the world, let them come in with a little plan to try and stop me...I'll be ready for them."

"And what about those two?" Vickie scoffed.

"Those two urchins? I don't need them anymore, they could be servants to Lucifer for all I care! It won't matter either way..."

Unbeknown to her, those two "urchins" had heard the conversation, from above the castle, using their long blonde hair as rope to tie themselves down and hear everything. The older one looked a bit sat as the younger one started to cry.

"I...I can't believe she used us!" The second one cried out. ""What have we done?!"

"It's not over yet." said the first one. "Did you get a good eye on those guys she was seeing through that mirror?"

"You mean that Circus?" asked the second one. "But Brett..."

Brett hushed his younger brother. "That Circus may be the key in helping us stop that woman from what we did. It's the only way to make amends for what we've done, Brian."

"Let's just hope the people will give us a chance of forgiveness." said Brian.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 **

Morning soon broke in the kingdom of Noir; in Adagi, Randy was already making way to his old house. It sat amongst a high oak tree, with a winding staircase for him to take. He smiled, as he let his hand touch the stair rail, letting him take the old trip down memory lane.

"It's been so long," he murmured, as he eventually made it to the door to his house. "Mom, Dad...I know you aren't here right now, but I am. I want you to know that..."

He grasped the door handle and pulled it open, revealing his former abode. There was a small fireplace, and many shelves which housed potions, liquids, and powders. A couple of empty birdcages were scattered about while there was a smell of dried wood in the air.

"I'm home," said Rand with a soft smile. He immediately went to the shelves, grabbing the different bottles of ingredients (like dragon scales, sand from the Great Desert, and water from the Dowell springs), a couple of instruments, and some spare books. He even found a small chest full of old Spheres.

"Let's see," said Randy, looking over the Spheres. "A Stone Sphere, a Teleport Sphere—that might be useful—a Bomb Sphere, Matt or Jeff might like it. And there's a—huh?"

He looked at the last lone Sphere that was there; inside of the sphere, there was what looked like a black tornado. He looked at in shock, nearly dropping it.

"This is a Black Hole sphere." Randy whispered. "I can't believe Mom had something as dangerous as this..." He immediately placed it with the other items as he exited the house.

As he walked downstairs—with a book in one hand—a small scrap of paper fell out. Picking it up, he found some sort of poem on it.

_**When the witch dies on the cross,**_

_**Her beloved son will be at loss.**_

_**He runs away in search of hope.**_

_**His mother's death, he has to cope.**_

_**But in that time, darkness appears.**_

_**Feeding on his own hopes and fears.**_

_**The evil queen, hungry for power**_

_**Shall bring chaos, and suffering in a frightful shower**_

_**In three years time, adventure comes for a price**_

_**And sometimes, the reward is not so nice.**_

_**For the sacred treasure shall be taken by those in gold**_

_**And then, 8 maidens in her power she shall hold**_

_**When the son of the witch returns from his stay**_

_**He will them come to save the day.**_

Randy was speechless; his mother's death, him running away to the Dream Circus, and everything that was going on...it was all about to transpire...

He didn't say anything as he immediately ran off to where his family was.

**0 0 0 0 0 0**

"You have got to be kidding me!" Shannon cried out, reading the paper. "So this whole prophecy is going to happen either way?!"

"It's been pretty accurate." said Gangrel. "No one else in the village had a child with magic powers like Randy. And the death of Elizabeth was said to be very controversial at the time. From my travels, I heard it was so bad, that Lady Vickie needed help from the McMahon family in Geb to stop the riot."

Matt whistled. "That does sound bad."

"There's one thing about this prophecy doesn't tell us." said Adam, looking at it. "It doesn't state when Vickie's getting the last 3 maidens. If we can stall her enough time to get the orb, then we'll be able to stop her."

"We can't let a scrap of paper worry us!" said Jay. "We need to head off to the castle now!"

"Then off we go!" said Adam, smashing the Teleport Sphere to the ground, covering everyone in a silvery mist.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

The 12 soon found themselves in the village of Alle, the castle that was in the kingdom looming over them. For some reason, there wasn't a lot of people in the village...it as if the whole place became a ghost town.

"Be on your toes," Gangrel murmured. "Things don't look good."

"Right." said Matt. He turned to Jay. "The Camouflage Sphere, now."

Jay nodded his head, pulling it out. It was a small cloud of green and brown smoke, swirling around. "So, Matt, Jeff and Adam will take the places for Ashley, Maria and Mickie. Then, the girls will travel to the dungeon to save the spell casters and get the Orb of Dawn." he said.

"Right." said Ashley. "The rest of you will distract Vickie long enough for us to get the hell out of here!"

"Heads up!" said Jay, smashing the Sphere onto the ground. The rest of the Circus took a step back as the smoke engulfed the 6.

"I forgot to mention." said Jay, amongst the rest of the group. "When you use the Sphere, you gain whatever the person was wearing, and their voices. But you don't get their special abilities or habits."

"That would've been nice to know!" Ashley snapped. She then looked down to see her skin was a bit darker, and she was wearing a black shirt and pants with both having a white sun decoration imprinted on the fabric. "Wow...this is cool!"

Adam looked at his chest, poking it. "How can girls live with this stuff? They're like targets!"

SLAP! Adam winced from the harsh backhand he was given from Ashley.

"Don't you ever touch those again!" Ashley snarled at him.

It was just at that point, Jeff started to touch Adam's chest.

SLAP!

"Oww..." Jeff whined, rubbing his cheek. He was now wearing a long blue skirt with white lace, and a blue corset, and his hair was now a silky brown. "How do you guys stand wearing this stuff?"

"Don't ask me." said Maria, a big grin on her face. Her hair was straw-colored and had red and orange streaks in them to resemble a bonfire. She then looked at her tatted arms, and the tiger marks around her cheeks. "This looks awesome!" she squealed, as she continued to look down at her outfit, which consisted of a pair of black pants and shirt that had a fire design on them.

"Look at that," said Matt, staring at Maria. "She looks better in that get up then you, Jeff." He then stared down at his outfit: purple leggings with some tassels and a purple short-sleeved shirt. Both of them had white heart designs on them.

Mickie started to play with her hair, looking at how dark it was. "Don't get used to it, Matty." she said. "This is only until the Orb of Dawn is in our hands."

"Enough chit-chat." said Randy. "We need to stop this ritual now."

"Take this." Gangrel tossed Ashley a small Sphere into her hands. Inside it was a piece of paper that looked similar to a treasure map. "This is a Map Sphere; smash it onto the castle, and it'll show you a map of its interior. But be careful, when you get the Orb of Dawn, escape from the back door of the castle. We'll meet up with you later."

Ashley nodded as the three girls soon headed off past the drawbridge, and through the interior of the castle.

Paul looked at them until they could no longer be seen. "So, who's going to volunteer themselves to perform first?"

**0 0 0 0 0 0 **

Ashley slammed the Map Sphere onto the castle wall, the piece of parchment inside it started to grow lines until the map appeared in front of their eyes. Three small white dots were shown in the lower left hand corner of the map, while a larger grey one was north of them.

"It looks like, we have to go through here.." she said, pointing her finger on the map. "If we want to get to the dungeon."

"There's supposedly a hidden door somewhere around here." said Mickie, reading the map. "But unfortunately, it's locked."

"Then how are we going to get in?" Maria asked in worry. She sat on a rock nearby, trying to think. Suddenly, she screamed as the rock started to sink down into the ground. The castle wall started to move away, revealing a secret corridor.

"That works." said Ashley, as the three immediately went inside. "I just hope whatever the guys are doing, they'll be all right."

"Oh come on." said Maria. "What could possibly go wrong?"

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Indeed. What could possibly go wrong?

That was the same thing Gangrel asked himself when the rest of the group made it to the castle. Vickie was sitting on her throne, in a long dress to cover any of her horrible body (if not all). Chavo and Bam stood like soldiers, ready for action. No one else except them were inside the castle; the invitation was most likely sent to them alone.

"Well, well." said Vickie. "This is the famous Dream Circus, but I thought there were 12 of you. Where are the other three?"

"They're rehearsing for a good finale for you," said Jay, thinking quickly. "If we bring them in now, then it'll be impossible to end the show with a bang."

"Then why don't we start off with the ladies?" asked Vickie, pointing to the Hardys and Adam. "Who shall go first?"

"Let me go first!" asked Adam, Stryker on his shoulder. He then whistled as both Terrah and Ven came through the door.

"I am known as a chariot rider." said Adam, as the three felines circle around him. "But I am also a lion tamer; now, I will show my taming of these animals!"

He cracked the whip as Terrah and Ven ran toward each other, they leaped, and tackled each other, rolling around like a giant wheel. Stryker leaped on top of the animals, walking on top of them as Terrah and Ven were both in their cycled state.

"When did Adam learn how to do that?" Shannon whispered to Jay.

Jay shrugged his shoulders. "I think he learned that from reading the Tarot Card X-Wheel of Fortune. He's obsessed with that stuff, and I think that's what he's going to do for his Circus act."

Adam cracked his whip as the three felines separated from each other. "Terrah, sit! Ven, attack!"

Terrah sat down while Ven soon charged up to Adam. Adam only smirked as he grasped Ven's jaw, prying it open.

"What the fuck?!" John whispered to Jay. "Is he mad?! What is he trying to do, KILL a sphinx?!"

"No, he's just doing Tarot Card VIII-Strength." said Jay. "The card shows a woman opening the mouth of a lion who is not only gentle and calm, but also dominant. Now if only he had..."

Adam whistled as Stryker brought something in her mouth; a Sphere that had white daisies in it. Stryker dropped it near Adam's foot as he crushed it with his feet. In that instant a small field of flowers surrounded the group.

"This seems interesting," said Vickie. "Her mastery over animals made it easy for her to work on the Sphinxes. They're tame enough for her to let them open their mouths for her."

Gangrel smiled to himself. "But of course, we are the best at what we do."

"When the heck did he get that Flower Sphere?" asked Matt.

"Oh yeah." said Jay. "It was one of Mom's old Spheres. I completely forgot about that one. It can create a small area of flowers, and it can be any type of flower you want!"

"That is enough." said Vickie, standing up. "I thank you for your act, Miss..."

"Ashley." said Adam. "It's Ashley."

"Well, Miss Ashley." said Vickie. "You can stop your act, now I want to see performances from the other two girls..."

Matt and Jeff gulped at that sentence.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 **

Ashley, Maria and Mickie eventually found the door leading toward the dungeon. It took them a while, having nearly been chased away by living armor that wielded axes and maces.

Finally, they were in front of the door that the map specified. They could hear the moaning of the five spell casters as they shuffled around with the sounds of chains rattling.

"Hello?" Mickie asked, knocking the door. "Is anyone here?"

"Who's there?" a voice cried out. "Are you here to rescue us?"

Mickie stepped back. "Heads up!" She soon aimed a powerful kick to the door, bursting it open. The 5 spell casters soon covered their bodies with the leftover straw when they saw the three "guys".

"Get away you perverts!" said Kelly, turning away. "You're going to rape us, aren't you?"

Maria only rolled her eyes as she pulled out her Prism Key. "Don't worry," she said, kneeling next to the blue spell caster. "We're here to save you!"

The Prism Key soon morphed into a black key with 3 teeth. Maria placed it on the lock, twisting it to the left. It gave a soft 'click' as the chains immediately fell off of Kelly's arms.

"We're girls using a Camouflage Sphere," Mickie explained, using her Prism Key on Candace. "We're here to save you and get the Orb of Dawn then get out of here!"

"But what about..." Torrie whispered. "Lucifer?"

"As long as Vickie doesn't have the 8 of us or the Orb we're fine." said Ashley. "Now hurry up; we have to get out of here!"

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Jeff concentrated on twirling his body with the fire batons in his hand. Matt winced a bit as he drank from the bottle of alcohol he had on him. He then exhaled, letting out a burst of flames from his mouth.

"This is getting us nowhere." Jeff whimpered. "And I can't do this anymore!"

"Stay strong, Jeff." Matt whispered. "The longer we hold onto this, the longer Vickie and her goons stay happy. And the longer they stay happy, the easier it is for the girls to get the Orb and the spell casters out of here!"

"I know!" Jeff whined. "But my arms are going to fall off soon; I can't stop or else they're going to figure out something's wrong."

"Try to work a little longer," said Matt, bringing out an unlit torch. "They're going to get the Orb and we're going to get the hell out of here!"

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"Here it is!" said Maria, opening a door. "This is where the Orb of Dawn is being located."

The door opened to reveal a small stone pedestal with a large glass orb floating above it. It was glowing a brilliant light and had many clouds surrounding it, making it look like the sun.

Ashley picked it up, feeling warmth flowing within her as it continued to shine. "It's so beautiful..." she murmured. "How could something so evil come out of something like this?"

"That's what we don't want to find out!" said Michelle. "Come on, let's get out of here!"

"Look out!"

The 8 looked up seeing a Sphere falling toward their feet. It broke in contact with the ground, a silvery mist swept toward them!

"You'll thank us later!" Brett said, looking down at them!

"You idiots!" Ashley said. "You---you---!"

The rest couldn't be heard as the girls disappeared in a puff of smoke...

And soon landed in the main hall of the castle.

"How did you escape?!" Vickie screeched, seeing the 5 spell casters and the Orb of Dawn in front of her. "I thought my plan was foolproof. But no matter, I think there's more than meets the eye."

She drew out her wand and in a puff of smoke, the whole group was blinded. She then raised her hand and the smoke dissipated.

"Great," said Ashley. "This is just...huh?" She grasped a hand to her throat. "My voice is back..." she looked down. "And so is my body..."

"Oh crap!" said Mickie. "She spotted us!"

"What do we do now?" Maria whimpered, hugging Mickie.

"I know." said Vickie, an evil smile on her face. The tip of her wand began to glow as the 8 girls started to scream in pain.

_Angel of Darkness, here my call_

_Be free of your prison, and end it all!_

The Orb of Dawn shined a brilliant light, blinding the group as the 8 girls started to transform into stone.

"What's happening?!" Ashley screamed, seeing her legs and arms becoming stiff.

"It's a petrification spell!" Mickie cried out. "She's using it so she can trap us all in one place!"

"We're going to die!" Maria sobbed, her whole body up to her neck being paralyzed. "We're going to---"

Nothing else was said as the girls had completely turned into stone. Their mouths were opened as if they were trying to say something, but nothing could come out.

Adam snarled at Vickie. "You bitch!" He cracked his whip, prompting Terrah, Ven and Stryker to stand up. "Attack her now!"

The three felines soon charged up to Vickie; Terrah and Ven immediately tackled both Bam and Chavo while Stryker started to bite on Vickie's arm.

"Off of me, you beasts!" Stryker yowled as she was pushed off of Vickie and fell to the ground. Adam immediately came to scoop her up. He could only gulp as he saw Vickie's wand pointing at him. The sphinxes immediately ran to their master, growling at the Queen.

"Sorry," said Vickie. "But I don't play favorites!" With a zap from her wand, the four were immediately turned into stone.

"This woman means business." said Gangrel. "Be on your toes; we're in for war."

"Look!" Jay pointed to a shining portal that was coming from up above...a large figure descended down form it. It was human-shaped, with long blonde hair and was wearing a black tunic. A pair of black bird wings were on his back and a red gem was on his forehead. What was so eerie about him was that he had two small horns poking from his golden tresses, and that he had 6 arms, each armed with either a sword, ax or mace.

"I can now understand why the villagers were afraid of him." said Matt. "He's really scary."

"Lord Lucifer," said Vickie, bowing down to him. "I have given you 8 virtuous maidens for you." She showed them the 8 girls that were frozen on the spot, their mouths opened in fear.

Lucifer stared down at the 8 women; the Orb of Dawn still shining brilliantly. A cold smirk emerged from his lips.

"And what?" he asked. "You did this so you can absorb some of my power? Or at least make me think that you should be my acolyte?"

"Of course!" Chavo yelled at him. "We want to rule this kingdom with an iron fist!"

Lucifer chuckled, laughing as the rest of the Dream Circus started trembling in fear. "I don't need help from the likes of you!" He roared. "But thanks for freeing me."

"EXCUSE ME!" Vickie yelled out. "I got you from your prison; I got you the 8 maidens, and I should be rewarded!"

"Does she not know about that 'pride comes before the fall' saying?" asked John. "She's asking for it!"

"You're asking for it, you witch." said Lucifer, a beam of light coming from the gem on his forehead. Vickie, Chavo and Bam were soon caught in a giant black energy orb, unable to get freed.

"LET ME OUT!" Vickie screamed, pounding on the orb. "How dare you!"

"That is what you get for letting pride get in the way." Lucifer chuckled. He then stared at the remaining members of the Dream Circus, notably at Randy. "So...here he is, the child of the prophecy..."

"You're not getting your hands on him!" said Gangrel. "You'll have to get through me!"

"You asked for it." Lucifer gave a cold smirk as another beam came from the gem. Gangrel screamed in pain as his whole body started to become stone. In seconds, all that was left of the ringmaster, was a statue of him. The angel then stared at the remaining group.

"You're not getting your hands on him!" Shannon yelled. "We'll make sure of that!"

It was in that instant that three more beams appeared. John and Randy immediately ducked as Matt, Jeff and Shannon were immediately turned into stone. Lucifer snarled as he fired more beams; both boys dodging all of them; unfortunately, Jay, Paul and Brian were caught in them.

"Is that all you have?" John panted. Lucifer snarled as he hurled an ax at the Lupin Prince. John immediately dove for Randy's bag of Spheres, grabbing a Sphere with two feathers in it. He smashed it as he started to grow a pair of feathery wings. He soared into the air, dodging two more swords that were thrown at him.

"Randy, toss me something!" John soon saw a Sphere with a bomb in whizzing through the air. He caught it in his hand as he immediately flew closer and closer to the angel.

"Take this!" He cried, hurling it right into Lucifer's chest. It hit dead-on, causing a small explosion. Lucifer snarled in pain as John immediately came closer and clobbered him with a good punch.

"Now, let's—uh!" John felt a beam of magic petrify the wings he had. They shattered as he fell to the ground.

"NO!" Randy's eyes began to glow a black light as John started to fall more slowly, until he was only mere inches above the floor. John was about to say something as a beam of magic hit him. He only screamed in pain as his arms and legs started to become stone.

Randy slowly let John down onto the floor, running off to him. "I'm so sorry..." Randy whispered. "It's my fault..."

John opened his eyes, as the spell slowly started to cover his chest. "Don't be...you were trying to stop me from falling...it's not your fault...Now go, fulfill your prophecy and save Noir from this monster." That was the last thing Randy heard as John's smiling face was covered in stone.

Randy stared at Lucifer, tears in his eyes and a look of determination was on his face. "You will pay!" said Randy. "I'll make sure you pay for all the sins you have committed to my friends!"

"You mean like that one with your mother?" Randy's eyes widened. "That's right." Lucifer smirked. "I was the one who corrupted those villagers into taking your mother onto the cross; what I didn't know was of that damn prophecy. She accepted her fate, and left you in the hands of a circus. But I'll make sure the only person that can stop me will die!"

"Bring it on!" Randy cried. "I'll take you down!"

Lucifer stared down at the orb where Vickie, Chavo and Bam were; for the first time in a LONG time, Vickie had a look of fear on her face.

"And what can you do?" Lucifer asked Randy, smirking at him. "I have 2 maces, and an infinite amount of magic. While you only have that pathetic book of spells, and a couple of Spheres. I'll win this hands down."

Randy looked down at the 5 Spheres left in the bag: his mother's Black Hole Sphere, Jay's Stone, Shifty and Paranoia Spheres, and his own special Sphere. The last one was one he was given on his 10th birthday by his mom...he never had a chance to use it though.

The young spell caster stared at Lucifer. "I'll beat you, and make sure you'll never harm anyone again!"

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In the village of Adagi, the villagers were viewing the fight between Randy and Lucifer through a magic mirror. Everyone was whispering to themselves as Randy stared at the angel of darkness.

"This is it, man." said Domino. "Our little boy's growing up."

"Yeah," said Deuce. "Time to give this guy a crack 'em in the mouth!"

"Shush!" said Gertrude. "We must see this battle till the end; the fate of Noir is resting in his hands."

"Look!" Victoria cried out, pointing to the statue of Sarah. "The statue; it's glowing!"

Everyone turned around to see the statue starting to grow cracks, light began to shine from them as her hands started to come down.

"It can't be!" Gertrude whispered. "It's impossible."

In a small explosion, the rubble and chains surrounding the woman exploded. The woman stepped down, a long blue dress going down to her ankles and long blonde hair going down to her waist. She gave a soft smile as she looked at everyone.

"I am finally free." Sarah whispered. "Thank you..."

"There might not be any thanks if Randy doesn't do anything!" Victoria said, pointing at the mirror. "He's about to strike..."

Everyone stared as Randy pulled out a Sphere from his bag...

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_How will Randy defeat Lucifer?_

_Will he be able to save everyone?_

_What will be the consequences for Vickie's actions?_

_And will she be given forgiveness?_

_All this and more in the next chapter!_

_Until then, read and review!_


	8. Andromeda, The Chained Lady

_What do you know? We're on chapter 8!_

_Let's go!_

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**Masquerade in the Night**

**by Green Phantom Queen**

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**Chapter 8-Andromeda, The Chained Lady**

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Randy pulled out a Sphere—one that had small rocks floating inside—and slammed it to the ground. He was soon covered head to toe in a rocky armor.

"Take this!" Randy cried, rushing up to Lucifer. The angel snarled, slamming one of his maces onto the ground. Randy rolled out of the way as he soon landed a punch against the large angel's leg.

"How dare you!" Lucifer cried out, firing a beam of magic at Randy's chest. Randy grunted a bit as he flew back a couple of feet, although it didn't have any affect on him.

"Sorry, but my Stone Sphere prevents you from creating a scratch on me!" said Randy, bringing out his next Sphere. This one had a pink mist and a yellow question mark on it. "Now it's time for you to eat my Paranoid Sphere!" He hurled it at Lucifer, connected it with his leg once more, as the pink mist enveloped him.

Lucifer tried to see what was going on, but the Sphere's effects made his vision go crazy. He was then assaulted by three clones of Randy, pummeling him with quick jabs. Unfortunately, the angel gave a cold smirk as a black aura surrounded him, dispersing the pink mist.

"Aw, crap!" Randy cried out, dodging a couple of beams from the angel. It was at that moment, that he saw one trying to hit the statue of John; he dove, the beam hitting his stony armor, and shattered it into pieces.

"Not good," he whispered to himself. "I have to save myself, and the statues." He looked at the three Spheres left, he only had one chance.

"So, do you not see your defeat?" Lucifer chuckled. "I am the most powerful angel in the world! And you shall die!"

"Eat my dust!" said Randy. "Why not try to miss me and hit me for once?!" At that time he used a small strand of black magic to wrap around the bag of Spheres, pulling it closer to him.

"You asked for it!" Lucifer fired a powerful beam of magic; Randy smirked, slamming Jay's Shifty Sphere onto the ground and became enveloped by a black aura himself. The beam hit the target, but all that was left was scorch marks and a black shadow.

"WHAT?!" Lucifer snarled. "How did you dodge my attack?!"

"Easy, duh." said Randy, moving amongst the floor. "The Shifty Sphere transformed me into a Shadow, you can't kill anything that's flat!"

"But I can squash them!" Lucifer raised a foot, bringing it down on where the shadow was. Randy could only gasp as he immediately went out of the way; only to find a mace piercing through him.

As Randy screamed in pain, Lucifer laughed to himself. "Oh yes, die like you were supposed to! There's nothing that can save you!"

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"Hang in there, Randy!" Gertrude yelled in Adagi. "Please survive; for all of us!"

Sarah soon came to the witch. "I think there is a way I can help."

Gertrude stared at Sarah. "What's that? We need a miracle at this point; if we don't do something soon, Randy will die!"

Sarah smiled softly as she raised a hand. "Just watch."

Through the mirror, the Orb of Dawn began to glow...

"That's amazing!" Deuce whispered. "How did you..."

When he turned around, Sarah had vanished.

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Randy could only whimper in pain as the mace pierced through his flesh. He was going to die, and all his friends were going to be statues forever...

That's when he felt a brilliant light shine throughout the room. Lucifer cried out in pain as he lifted the mace, and shielded his eyes with two of his empty hands. Randy immediately dove for his bag of Spheres, pulling out his mom's Black Hole Sphere.

"Hey, Loser!" Randy yelled. "CATCH!"

With all the strength he could muster, he hurled the Sphere right into Lucifer, who—despite being blind—was able to grab it with a fifth hand.

Lucifer removed two hands and chuckled at the small item. "That's it? A little Sphere?!" He roared with laughter, shaking the whole castle. "The son of a witch, and all he has is a little Sphere?!"

Randy smirked, bringing out something from his pouch...a small dagger.

"That's not all!" He said. "It's a Black Hole Sphere...and if shattered...it'll send anyone in its radius into Oblivion!"

Lucifer stopped laughing as he saw Randy pointing his dagger. "Wait a minute...that means!"

"GOOD BYE!" Randy yelled, throwing the dagger at the Sphere. The Sphere shattered, and the black tornado inside it began to grow, and grow and grow!

"NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" Lucifer yelled, as he was being pulled into the vortex. "I WON'T LET YOU DEFEAT ME!"

Vickie, Chavo and Bam were soon released from the energy prison, but were soon being sucked away by the Sphere. Vickie was still able to have a smirk on her face.

"Ha!" She screeched at Randy. "You might have used it, but you're going to be stuck with us in Oblivion!"

"Oh, am I?" Randy brought out his last Sphere; a Sphere with a golden shield on it.

"That's a Barrier Sphere!" Bam cried out. "He's going to..."

"Protect himself!" Chavo finished.

"You're damn right I am!" Randy smashed the Sphere onto the floor as a barrier spread amongst the area of him and the statues. "Have fun in Oblivion for about 2000-5000 years! Don't forget to send me a note!"

The four villains screamed as Lucifer's weapons, and everything else outside of the barrier started to be blown away. The black hole started to shrink as it ate half of the castle, and the screams of the villains died away.

Soon enough, the black hole started to shrink into nothing; in a few seconds, nothing was left of Lucifer, nor of Queen Vickie, nor of her bodyguards.

Randy got on his knees, a smile was on his face as the barrier dimmed down. "Thanks, mom." he murmured. "But..." he turned to see everyone still in their stony prison, the Orb of Dawn still shining bright. "What do I do now?"

"Perhaps, I can answer your question."

Randy turned around to see a woman with long blonde hair and a blue dress walking up to him. A soft smile was on her face. The young spell caster bowed down to the woman.

"Oh, Sarah, Saint of Witches." he said. "I am not worthy of your presence."

Sarah laughed. "Do not worry; all is well." she said. "I will use my Orb of Dawn to revive them all." She gently picked up the item as she turned to the statues and chanted a spell.

_Humans trapped within this stone_

_Return to your forms of flesh and bone!_

The Orb of Light began to shine as the stony armor began to corrode away from everyone who was petrified. Sarah sang a single note as the mist around the Orb started to whirl around like a tornado. Sarah's eyes began to glow in a brilliant light as the stone armor exploded into particles. Once everyone was freed, the light dimmed down.

Adam looked at himself, then at Stryker mewing at him. "I'm free!" he cried.

John stood up and hugged Randy. "You did it! You saved Noir!"

Randy hugged John in return. "I know."

Gangrel came and patted Randy on the head. "Congratulations, Randy Orton. You've surprised me."

Ashley, Maria and Mickie soon tackled him to the ground, all of them cheering his name.

"How the heck did you do it?!" Jay cried out.

Randy smiled as he said, "Mom left me a few presents. Like my Black Hole and Barrier Spheres."

"WHAT?!" Shannon yelled out. "Those are Ultra Rare Spheres!"

Paul whistled. "Man, your mom must've been super powerful to create them or filthy rich!"

"I vote for the super powerful option." Said Brian. "But man does it hurt to be zapped by that beam!"

"You're our hero!" Kelly and Torrie cooed, kissing Randy on the cheek and the other female spell casters went to congratulate him. John could only chuckle as Randy had a look that said "Help me."

"You're so smart, and so brave!" said Candice, petting Randy's hair.

"And you're daring!" said Cherry, hugging him around his neck.

"Of course he is!" Michelle exclaimed. "If it wasn't for him, we would've died!"

"What about us?!" Everyone looked up to see two boys with long blonde hair sliding down on some rope. One of them had green pants, and the other had grey but both had blue eyes.

"We were the ones who teleported out of that dungeon!" The one in green exclaimed. "If it wasn't for us, you'd be stuck in the dungeon!"

Ashley snarled as she walked up to the twin boys; no one was prepared to see her slap both of them on the face.

"If it wasn't for you, then Lucifer wouldn't have been summoned!" Ashley screamed at them. "You dumb asses! We were supposed to go to through the back of the dungeon, not teleport!"

"I can't believe you are fucking stupid!" Maria added. "I mean, I'm dumb, but I'm not that stupid as to risk my friends' lives in danger!"

"You two should be ashamed!" Mickie finished. "You nearly caused Noir to be ruled by an evil entity!"

The one in red bowed his head in shame. "But we wanted to help you out. We were the ones who stole the Orb of Dawn, but we didn't know that there was something evil inside it!"

Gangrel walked up to them, a furious look on his face. Everyone from the Dream Circus backed away, not wanting to be in part of the man's wrath.

"You two," the ringmaster started. "Stole an artifact of immense power and without knowing what it does, let an evil queen nearly take over Noir! Plus, you interfered with the plan in getting it out of the castle safely by teleporting my family members to the place they should've never been. And finally, you were cowards and didn't stand up to your crimes while me, and the rest of the Circus turned to stone, and Randy had to fight that monster by himself! What do you have to say for yourselves now?!"

"Please forgive us!" The two boys said.

"And why should we?" John asked, canine teeth starting to replace his human ones. "Why should we not try to rip you into shreds?"

Adam cracked his whip as Terrah and Ven sat up, growling at the two boys. "I'd like you to have a little fun with my pets; they deserve a little treat."

"Or maybe..." Jeff closed his eyes as his hands started to become encased with fire. "We'll burn them to a crisp!"

The two boys trembled in fear until Stryker immediately came in front of them.

"Huh?" said Adam. "What is it Stryker?" Stryker gave a sad mew as she stared into Adam's eyes. "No way...these can't be..."

"What is it?" Jay looked at the two boys. "No way! It's you two! Brett and Brian Major!"

Paul turned his head to Jay. "You know those two?!"

Adam nodded his head. "They were friends of ours when we were still young." Adam explained. "They were about 4 years younger than us, so they're about 12 right now. They were pretty young, so we gave them spare food...we never thought that they'd be working for Vickie, though."

"It wasn't our fault!" Brett—the one in green—cried out. "We had nowhere else to go...we were thieves, stealing from the villages, until she came."

"She gave us a home, and food, and clothes." Brian Major added. "If it wasn't for us, then we wouldn't have a home."

"Oh really." Gangrel said, rolling his eyes. "Than I suppose that you're going to feed us lies? Your names aren't Brett or Brian; you two are Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder."

"WHAT?!" Jay cried out. "That's preposterous! We've known these two all our lives; we'd know if they were telling their real names or not."

"It's simple, really." said Gangrel, pulling out a small magnifying glass. "This Looking Glass told me everything." He put it in front of his eyes, seeing through both Major brothers; both of them started to sweat.

"I was right." he said. "Vickie warped their minds...these two thought they were the Major brothers. They're nothing but posers."

"But they look just like them." Jay exclaimed. "How can they not be the Major brothers?"

"Because the Major brothers were part of the Dream Circus 4 years ago." said Maria. "It was before the Hardys or even before Randy and Mickie showed up. You see, when the Dream Circus started out, we met up with both brothers around the kingdom of Noir. They were our hair hang acrobats, because of their long hair. But one night, as they were performing, something happened in the act. They were on the ropes, ready to hang down, but the ropes snapped, and both brothers fell..."

"Nothing could save them." Ashley added. "Gangrel was in shock, because he was there when it happened. He couldn't speak to us for days on end after that...but then these two boys--" She pointed to Hawkins and Ryder when she said that. "Came in, trying to pose off as amazing acrobats, when all they showed were their bad attitudes. Gangrel was furious on how those two behaved, and kicked them out before having a chance to perform."

"It does make a lot of sense now." said Shannon. "Vickie must've gotten word of this, and when these two posers told them their little sob story, she helped them out. But by the time she did that, the Circus moved on. So these two were soon demoted to nothing but thieves and messengers."

"Shut up!" Zack—the one in green—yelled. "How dare you--"

"Brian," Gangrel interrupted. "Do something useful and please wipe that seal from their minds."

"Um," said Brian, backing away. "Are you sure you want me to--"

"JUST DO IT!" Brian flinched as he immediately went to the two boys. He closed his eyes as the symbol on his forehead began to shine brightly. Hawkins and Ryder's eyes began to glow also.

"That's amazing!" Kelly squealed. "How can he do that?"

"Because he's a vessel." said Jeff. "Vessels can do almost anything!"

Brian opened his eyes as both Hawkins and Ryder soon collapsed onto the ground. "Did I do too much?"

"You did fine." said Randy. "All you did was knock them out...they'll be fine in a few hours."

Sarah smiled as she soon brought everyone to her attention. "Everyone, I would like to bring you back to Adagi; there is going to be a celebration there."

"All right!" Adam and Jay said, giving each other high-fives. "Party time!"

John carried both Hawkins and Ryder on his shoulders. "Let's bring them along for the ride."

Sarah closed her eyes, bringing the Orb of Dawn into the air and let it shine in a brilliant light. It shone brightly as everyone soon disappeared out of sight.

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While the Dream Circus was getting rested from their giant battle, Randy was being paraded across the village of Adagi for his brilliant skill in defeating Lucifer.

"No, seriously." he said, as they were tossing him in the air. "You don't have to do this!"

"You're right!" said Deuce. "We want to!"

"Our little boy grew up and became a hero!" Domino added. "Another three cheers for Randy Orton!"

"Wait!" Randy cried out. "What about Alle? Now that Queen Vickie is gone, who's going to rule it?"

Everyone paused at that sentence, murmuring to each other.

"It's got to be someone, kind, and considerate." said a villager.

"But also able to take action, and is fair." said another.

"One who understands the people." a third one says.

"Someone like Aunt Gertrude!" Randy said. "Aunt Gertrude is the perfect candidate; I mean, she's helped settle disputes from our food shortages to helping two little girls share a doll!"

Gertrude blushed a bit. "No, that can't be right...I'm just plain old Aunt Gertrude to everyone here in Adagi. I can't be a ruler..."

"But you must, the people of Adagi believe you are an excellent leader." Gertrude turned around to see Gangrel grab her hand and kiss it. "I assure you, you would make an excellent queen for me."

Mickie and Maria looked at each both Gertrude and Gangrel. "Isn't that cute? He's in love!" Mickie squealed.

"Aww, they look so cute together!" said Maria. "Do I hear wedding bells?"

"Um," said Shannon, staring at Randy. "Why does everyone in the village call her, 'Aunt Gertrude'"?

"It's because she treats everyone like a family member." said Randy. "She lost her family a long time ago, but she is considerate from the elderly to the younger kids. She's not a part of our family, but we're all a part of hers; it's the best we can do."

Adam was leaning back on Terrah who was snoozing away. He kept staring at both Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder, both were still unconscious. Stryker was sitting on his lap sleeping softly.

"These two," He murmured to himself. "These two caused a lot of trouble for not only Adagi, but for Noir itself...but it was never their fault."

"What do you mean 'it was never their fault'?" Ashley exclaimed. "It was because of them we all got turned into lawn ornaments!"

"I don't trust them." said Brian. "If I had my way, I'd carry them up to the air around 1500 feet in altitude and drop them on the Pagliacchi Mountains."

"If we had it our way," said Matt, taking a swig of a drink. "We'd burn them to a crisp."

"But," Jay had an evil smirk on his face. "Those two haven't seen how sadistic me and Adam can be." He pulled out a book, and started leafing through it.

"Hey!" Randy cried out. "That's my Sphere Creation book! How the hell—oh yeah, you're thieves."

"Ex-thieves." said Adam. He stood up, and Stryker immediately stood near him. "We'll be back in a while, so please save us some food."

Randy nodded his head. "On it."

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As Hawkins and Ryder sat up and rubbed their heads, they opened their eyes to see nothing but darkness. They held their hands, knowing that they could not escape what was happening.

"Well," a voice said. "You're awake."

"Who are you?!" Ryder yelled out, standing up. "What do you want?"

A small light shone on his face as he saw Jay shine his glow ring on him. He was now wearing his original Circus outfit, all the way down to the mask covering his face...what was more gruesome was that he was wielding a sphere with some swords circling around each other.

Jay gave a cold smile from his mask. "I am Chruso, the juggler of the Dream Circus. I can juggle almost anything: clubs, daggers, balls, silk scarves...and if I have to I'll even use some heads." He crushed the Sphere with his hand and two daggers appeared hovering in mid-air. "And this Blade Sphere is perfect for slicing some heads off."

"What about me?" Hawkins and Ryder turned around to see Adam in his Circus outfit—although the number on his forehead this time was VIII—and it was complete with a whip that was combined with roses thorns on it. He was riding on top of Terrah and a cold smirk was on his face. "Chruso, let me slice their bodies and bloody them with my whip before you cut their heads off."

Hawkins and Ryder flinched as they saw themselves surrounded by two maniacs; they just knew they were going to die. Jay immediately threw a dagger at the two who only had a little bit of time to duck.

"What did we do?" Hawkins said timidly. "We haven't done anything wrong?"

Adam just laughed at that. "Oh, but you're wrong...remember an incident four years ago? You should; you paraded around like big blow hards after a personal tragedy came to our little circus."

"Gangrel, our father, the ringmaster of this Circus was mourning the death of two of his finest actors." Jay added. "You waltzed in, claiming to have talents like them...while all you did was fall flat on your faces." He attacked Ryder with his dagger but he jumped in the nick of time/

"You went off into the mountains of Pagliacchi and trained your hardest so you could eventually make it into the Circus." Adam continued, grabbing Hawkins wrists with his whip. "And Gangrel decided to give you one second chance; there's going to be a small chance you get his approval, but only if you can impress the both of us!"

"Did that really happen?" asked Curt, his face showing a look of confusion. "I don't recall any of that."

"Of course!" Jay cried out. "I mean, it explains why you're here, and your long hair...you spent at least 4 years in the Mountains that it didn't matter if you needed hair cuts or not!"

"That does explain our hair." said Zack, noticing that his hair was tied into a huge braid that went down to his hips. "I wonder..."

He snapped his head, moving his braid to hit Jay in the chest. The juggler fell with a thud as Zack removed the band that held the braid together. It soon unraveled to reveal a curtain of golden straw tresses. Curt followed suite, removing the band on his braid and lashed his head so that his hair became a rope that was grasping onto Adam's neck.

Adam immediately pulled onto the long rope, trying to release the grip, but Curt stepped back. Adam's face was starting to turn a shade of blue as Stryker immediately leapt into the air. Bearing her claws she slashed off the hair that was choking Adam; Curt's hair was now past his shoulders.

"Thanks," Adam muttered to Stryker who mewed in response. Jay immediately slashed off the hair that was choking him with a dagger and kicked Zack right in the chest.

"Not bad, but you still have lots to learn." said Jay. "We'll assess how well you used your act and get back to you."

"But we didn't show you enough skills yet!" Zack exclaimed; it was then his stomach started to growl.

"We all need food," said Adam. "Come on, let's eat and we'll tell Gangrel that we wanted to give you a second chance to be in our circus."

**0 0 0 0 0 0**

"You told them WHAT?!" Gangrel yelled at Adam and Jay. Adam nearly choked on the turkey leg he was eating when he heard the outburst.

"Well what were we going to say to them?" Jay cried out. "They don't have any memory as being the ones who stole the Orb of Dawn; so we told them that they were training at the Pagliacchi Mountains and that's why they had very long hair.

"Not so long anymore, actually." said Adam, swallowing his food. "We cut it off so now it's down to their shoulders."

"So do you still want them in the Circus?" Jay asked Gangrel. The ringmaster just stared at the two boys who were eating and talking to themselves, eagerness in their eyes on the excitement on them possibly being in the Dream Circus.

"We'll see," he murmured.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

The feast soon ended with a beautiful display of floating lights that surrounded Adagi; everyone stood in awe as the lights swirled in the air like fireflies, then disappeared into the evening sky.

Hawkins and Ryder were touching the lengths of their hair, feeling a bit strange without the rest of it. They shuddered at the memory of Adam and Jay hacking it off, but it was a nuisance in the first place.

"Wonder if we are going to the Circus or not." said Curt, looking up at the night sky. "It'd be fun."

"But that's for me to decide." Hawkins and Ryder turned around to see Gangrel walking towards them. "If you want to be in my Circus, you have to ask me."

"Then will you take us into the Circus?" Zack asked on bended knee. "Please?"

Gangrel sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry, but you're just not ready to be in the Circus yet; you're both twelve years old and you have lots to learn in the world before you choose a career for yourselves. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Hawkins and Ryder sadly nodded their heads.

"But..." Hawkins and Ryder lifted their heads. "Come in about one or two years and you'll be excellent additions to the Circus; we'll still be around by that time."

"Absolutely!" Curt cried happily. "We'll wait until then!"

Gangrel smiled as he pulled out a scroll and a feather. "Sign your names here, this paper is considered a 'waiting list'. It'll indicate when the two years are up and when it is the right time for you to come back to the Circus."

The two immediately scribbled their names onto the parchment. The scroll vanished when they finished writing.

Gangrel gave a soft smile as he patted the two boys on the head. "Work hard, and make your fame grow...but don't try stealing stuff, okay?"

"Then where do we go?" asked Zack. "We have no home now."

"Stay with me then." The two boys turned to see Gertrude walk up to them. "I'll adopt you and you can be my sons...I am going to be the Queen of Noir starting tomorrow, after all."

Curt and Zack immediately smiled to themselves as Gangrel gave a kiss on Gertrude's hand. "I wish you the best of luck in ruling Noir with a heart of gold." he said.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 **

Lord David snarled at the scene of a festive Adagi through his mirror. "What an idiot." He muttered. "I give that woman the power to rule Noir, helped control those two boys, summon Lucifer, but she let her damn pride in the way."

"You know what they say, Lord David." said Kevin. "Pride comes before the fall."

"Yes," said Lord David. "For now, we must gather more forces, let them have their little fun. But mark my words, that Dream Circus will soon be suffering with humongous nightmares the likes you'll never see."

"Might I suggest we use her?" said Ariel. "She can seduce the men and make them do our bidding."

"Never again." said Lord David, pinching the bridge of his nose. "She's still stuck within the dungeons of Sol for that."

"What about him?" asked Kevin. "The one who was sent to that asylum then burnt it down to the whole ground?"

Lord David rubbed his chin in thought. "This might work...this might work out...."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

The next morning, the Dream Circus was surrounded by gifts from the villagers of Adagi. The 12 teenagers swarmed through the pile like kids on Christmas morning, ripping away wrapping paper and ribbon until it looked like a colorful snow storm came in.

"This is awesome!" Maria squealed, pulling out a staff that was silver and tipped with tiny bells. "It's a Silver Bell Staff, and there's also ones for Mickie and Ashley!"

John's eyes nearly bugged out when he found a beautiful silk cloak with his name on it, while Shannon was given a silver flute that played a soft buzzing melody when blowed on.

"SUGAR!" Jeff cried when he found out he was given a box of Honey Sticks—small containers of different honey that was given organic flavorings like root beer and lemonade. "I LOVE IT ALL!"

Matt smirked to himself—knowing that honey doesn't have any sugar in it at all—finding a beautiful sword that had a red dragon design on the blade. Paul and Brian cheered for joy when they had received a "Make-your-own Sphere package" containing some empty Sphere shells, ingredients and a book on creating them.

"Check it out!" Jay cried out, picking up a set of multi-colored orbs. He started to juggle them and they began to dance around him in delight. He twirled his body and they swirled around him. "These are so neat!"

"I know!" said Adam, pulling out a wand tipped with a black star. "I've been wanting to do something with stars in my act."

Randy smiled as his friends as he opened his gift. He gasped in surprise as he saw what it was; it was the Orb of Dawn.

"No way..." he gasped out. "Guys! Look at this!"

The rest of the group turned around, nearly screaming in shock to see Randy holding onto the Orb of Dawn.

"What the hell?" Shannon exclaimed. "Why do you have it?"

"Because I'm giving it to you." Randy looked up to see Sarah smiling at him; she knelt down and placed her hands on the sacred item.

"Listen," she said. "Before this item became what it was, it was just a plain crystal ball which I used to help detect where the patient was hurting. What I did not realize that it was an item blessed by Gaea's tears thousands of years ago. When I used my magic to make it the Orb of Dawn, it was then that it had magical properties greater than when it was blessed by Gaea alone. This little crystal ball was once known as the Sun's Spirit because it was originally the Relic for the Temple of Light."

"Dude," Matt whistled. "A little glass orb was a Relic?"

"So were the twelve keys Brian collected," said Paul.

"But what about Adagi?" asked Ashley. "Doesn't it need the Orb of Dawn?"

"Now that Gertrude is Queen and Vickie is out of the way, we no longer need it." said Sarah. "The Dream Circus need each and every Relic of Harmonia to unlock the last 5 Guardians; if the Relics are not present, then the Temples will not open. You are our only hope, please protect us all."

"And what about you?" asked Jeff. "Where are you going to go?"

Sarah smiled sadly. "I am going to leave Adagi, and look for my husband. We both were given a curse; the curse of the Undead. It makes us immortal and we cannot die from normal methods...I do hope he's okay."

"He is." said Jay. "We met up with him two nights ago; he helped us when we fought Leonard and was there when Brian received his blessing."

Sarah smiled a little. "I hope he has not forgotten me; I must go, and good luck to you all."

She closed her eyes as pair of angel wings grew from back. They covered her body and disintegrated into particles of light, spreading into the morning sky until nothing remained of her.

Randy stared at the Orb of Dawn. "Adagi's sacred treasure is now in my hands..." He gripped on it tightly. "I won't fail you, my small village."

"We better get going." said Maria. "If I remember correctly then the next Temple is in the Pagliacchi Mountains of Twili; we need to get a head start if we want to get past the Fantasia River."

Everyone heard a neighing sound as they saw Gangrel riding up in his horse-drawn carriage. "What are you waiting for?" he said. "Let's go!"

The 12 nodded their heads as they scrambled to get ready to leave. Gangrel stared at them with a bit of sadness as he saw the determined faces of the 12 in trying to stop Darkness from destroy Harmonia.

"What have I gotten myself into?" he murmured as a soft wind began to blow.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

In the trees surrounding the Fantasia River, a young boy was practicing with a steel sword, pretending he was stabbing an opponent.

"Take this!" he cried, his short blonde hair following his movements. "And that! And that! And some of this!"

"My lord!" The boy turned around to see a young woman calling toward him. "Your father needs to see you!"

"Aww..." He whined, placing his sword away. "What for?"

"It's involving the Three Tribes." she replied. "The King of the Lupins has recovered thanks to some people from a Circus and has relinquished the Treasure of his Tribe. It is about time we give up our own; Darkness is coming, young one. If we do not band together..."

"Then we're going to die and Harmonia is going to be destroyed." The boy finished. "Blah, blah, blah."

For that he was yanked by the hair; he screamed as the woman dragged him all the way back to a small clearing not that far away from Adagi.

It was right about that time that the Dream Circus was heading toward that area.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

_What awaits the Dream Circus in the Fantasia River?_

_Who was that young boy?_

_What is happening amongst these so called 'Three Tribes'?_

_And will Sarah ever be reunited with Mark?_

_All this and more in the next chapter!_

_Until then, read and review!_


	9. Leo Minor, The Lesser Lion

_Well, sorry about the delay on that last chapter. Had a bit of writer's block._

_So now, let's start this next chapter!_

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**Masquerade in the Night**

**by Green Phantom Queen**

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**Chapter 9-Leo Minor, The Lesser Lion**

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It had been at least 2 hours since the Dream Circus had left Adagi. Gathering a couple of provisions—and trying to make sure Jeff didn't buy any candy along the way—they were currently heading toward the Fantasia River. Until...

"OW!" Someone cried out. "Stop pulling my hair!"

John, who was currently in wolf form, perked his ears, trying to figure out where the cry was coming from. "Did anyone hear that?"

"Of course we did." said Paul, covering his ears. "And it hurt my eardrums!"

It was then that they saw a peculiar sight: A young woman in her late teens pulling a boy who was around 15. The young woman had brown hair that went down to her waist and was wearing a simple blouse and skirt, while the boy's hair was blonde and had a blue robe with silver symbols decorating it. What was strange about them was that they had cat ears and tails, but the boy had what was going to be a lion's mane and a tussled tail and a silver sword in one hand.

"Hey!" said John, running up to the two. "It's been a long time hasn't it?"

The woman stared at the silver wolf. "Do I know you?"

"Of course you do!" John exclaimed. "I'm Johann, prince of the Lupins. Remember, I accidentally knocked you down into that puddle of mud?"

"Oh," said the woman. "Now I remember: You're that same little wolf brat that also tried to attack Prince Jeri!"

"It's Jericho!" The boy cried out. "I want to go by my human name: Chris Jericho!"

The woman sighed, dropping Prince Jeri onto the ground. "But my dear Prince." she said. "I'm supposed to be the one that's looking out for you. Now that Darkness is coming, everyone in the Felix Clan is feeling nervous."

"Felix Clan?" Brian asked in confusion, while the three animals in front of them were talking. "What's that?"

Gangrel sighed. "The Felix Clan, although similar to the Lupin Clan, is different in the way that they cannot access a full animal form." He explained. "Instead, they still carry feline features like the tails, front paws and ears. They have excellent flexibility and strength because of this and are said to be more agile than regular humans. They live near the Fantasia River because of the fish that are there and because they are the protectors of its special artifact: The Water Lily Orb."

"That's correct," said the cat woman, addressing Gangrel's presence. "My name is Molly Holly. But you can just call me Molly. I'm Prince Jeri's best friend and guardian, making sure he does not get into any trouble."

"Nice to meet you then!" said Maria, getting off of her gryphon and petting Molly on the head. "I'm Maria!" Molly smiled a bit at the touch, then noticed the Bell Staff in Maria's hand.

"What's that?" She said, pointing to the item in Maria's hand.

"Oh, this?" Maria lifted it up, the jingling of the bells got Molly's attention. "It's a Bell Staff; it's named from an old poem that talked about bells. This one is a Silver Bell Staff and it gives a soft ringing sound and is also an excellent way for writing pictures in the sky!"

Molly did not pay attention to the rest as she started to play with the bells that were on the staff with a paw.

"Oh yeah," said Gangrel. "I forgot about that weakness: they still have the habits of regular cats. Tassels, fish, yarn...it takes a lot of concentration to not give into temptation but it's harder to resist it when they get into it."

"Speaking of the Fantasia River," said Adam. "We need to get going if we want to head to Twili."

"No, we have to stay here." said John. "My dad said that we had to reunite the treasures of the Three Tribes in order to get to one of the later temples. Since the Felix Clan is here we can go and visit the King and explain to them what's going on."

"Aww..." said the prince, pouting a bit. "Do we have to? I want to know about you guys!"

"Not now, Prince Jeri." said Molly. "We need to go speak to your father; then after the introductions are made you can play!"

"YAY!" He cried out. "Let's go!"

As he bounded away everyone else just stared at Molly.

"Just how old is he?" Shannon finally asked.

Molly counted on her claws and started to figure out some numbers. "In Felix years he's around 10, but that means in human years he's about 15."

"WHAT?!" Everyone exclaimed.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 **

After finally catching that rambunctious little cat, the group finally made it into a clearing not far from their position. There were many tents made from some sort of animal skin and many members of the Felix clan happily at work preparing food, fire, or making clothes. Some of the children were playing with the strings an the clothing while others were snoozing away.

"They're so cute!" said Ashley, rushing toward a sleeping child. She then lifted it up into her arms and hugged it. "Can I have one?"

"Mew?" The little boy said in confusion.

"Oh dear." said Molly. "Some people can't resist the urge to hug some of the younger children. Um, where did everybody go?"

Gangrel pinched the bridge of his nose as he saw the Dream Circus scattered about looking at all of the wonders that the Felix Clan had to offer. Maria and Mickie followed Ashley's example and started hugging other Feli children to pieces. Matt and Jeff were looking intently at how the Felix members were shaping metal despite the fact that they didn't have any thumbs. Shannon was already hanging out with some of the other children by some trees while John and Randy immediately set out on a game of tag with a couple more. Paul and Brian were entertaining a couple of them with some magic tricks, while Adam and Jay were...well...

"Look at them, Stryker!" said Adam, showing the small Felus a couple of members of the Felix clan working. "Maybe you can become something like them!" Stryker just gave a small mew.

Jay was practicing with his magic light orb as he came up to Adam. "Wonder if these guys like shiny things...." He said, tossing the orb in the air.

Suddenly a blowing of a horn was heard across the clearing; everyone turned to see a grand procession take place. A man, about 6 or 7 feet tall with a spiky blonde hair and wearing a tunic across his body was walking toward the group. He was also wearing a golden bracelet on each arm, sandals and a long cape; he also had yellow eyes and claws on his hands and feet.

"Bow." Molly hissed to Gangrel. "Get off that high horse of yours and bow." The ringmaster muttered something under his breath as he got off the carriage and bowed down. Everyone else continued to do so. Except...

"My son," The man roared. "Where are you?"

"Right here!" The man turned to see Prince Jeri walked up to him. "I was practicing my swordsmanship in the Fantasia River! Then Molly and I met up with this Circus! The Prince of the Lupins was there!"

"What?!" The man yelled. "Where is he?"

"Here..." said John, weakly raising a hand. He slowly walked up to the terrifying figure of the King of the Feli, fear on his face on what this person might do to him. "What's going on?"

The King smiled at John, showing his sharp fangs as he patted the Lupin Prince on the head. "It is nice to see you after 2 years! What have you been doing since then?"

"I'm the Aerial Silk performer." John was able to reply. "I climb this pillar of silk and then gracefully use it to fall down or climb up again. I also have this..."

He pulled out the Wolf's Dance bracelet for both the King and Prince Jeri to see. "My dad gave it to me after we saved his mind from whatever was controlling him. He said that Darkness was coming, and that all Three Treasures of the clans in order to unlock one of the Temples."

"Yes, I have heard the news." said the King. "I am prepared to give you the Treasure of my people..."

"Yes!" Jay said to Adam, as they were still bowing.

"But one member of your Circus must defeat my son in a fight in order to claim it." The King finished. "Who will stand up and fight him?!"

The Dream Circus stayed silent for a while; no one wanting to say something and cause themselves to be sent into a fight. Stryker's tail swished near Adam's nose, causing him to sneeze.

"Achoo!" he said. "Achoo! Achoo! ACHOO!" At that last one he got up on one knee, getting a handkerchief to blow his nose.

"There he is!" said the King, pointing to Adam. "This is the person who shall fight Prince Jeri! Tell me, what is your name?"

"A-Adam." said the lion tamer. "Why do you ask?"

"Adam vs. Prince Jeri!" the Felix King announced. "In one hour, a magnificent fight will be seen for all! Let us rejoice!"

The Felix Clan started to cheer with joy as Adam started to sink away from the crowd. Stryker went up to Adam and started to purr.

"Thanks a lot." he said to Stryker while she gave a soft meow.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Slowly, he walked slowly through the area. Chain in his hand an evil smile was on his face at the thought of the reward he would get for doing this job. All he had to do was get one little item and hand it to his benefactor. He needed to know...he needed to know the answer to the question that had been inside him for so long.

And if it was for a simple task of what was given to him, he'll do it.

He grinned as he snapped his fingers; in an instant a small flame was on top of his pointer finger. He shot the blaze at a nearby tree, and it exploded into a pile of ashes. The grin on his face was more distorted as he continued toward his destination.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

"I'm going to die!" Adam cried out, as he saw Prince Jeri practicing with his sword. "I don't know how to fight!"

"But you made those awesome plans." said Jeff. "How can you not know how to fight?"

"The techniques I learned were for evasion and for doing huge plans!" Adam exclaimed. "But I don't know how to fight!"

"Too late." Gangrel muttered. "If you didn't know how to fight, why did you stand up?"

"It wasn't my fault!" Adam said, picking up Stryker. "I sneezed because of her!"

"But she couldn't do anything bad!" said Paul, taking the felus into his arms. "Does this look like the face of someone who could do you harm?" He showed Stryker's face in front of Adam as he said that.

"Forget that!" said Adam. "If I don't survive, I'll be cursing at a image of her face of how she got me into this mess." At that, Stryker's ears drooped. "But I still love you though." Stryker's ears perked up at that and she mewed once more.

A horn blared as Prince Jeri and Adam stepped onto the dirt square that was the ring. The King stood up, and looked at the two competitors straight in the eye.

"I want a good clean fight." He said. "Winner is whomever pushes their opponent pass the boundaries of the ring. No killing, but blood is exceptional."

"All right!" Prince Jeri cheered.

"Oh great." Adam said to himself. He didn't have time to say anything else as a bell rang, signaling the start of the fight.

Prince Jeri immediately brought his sword, slashing it in the air. Adam immediately jumped, jumping over the Prince's head and doing a front flip in front of him.

Matt, Jeff and Shannon soon brought out score cards: Matt gave it a 7, Jeff gave it an 8 and Shannon gave it a 5.

"A 5, Shannon?!" Adam said, staring at the number. "That's cold!"

Prince Jeri immediately tackled Adam down to the ground, the two rolling around like hyenas. Adam tried to push the Felix prince off of him, but Prince Jeri used his feet and kicked Adam in the stomach, making him land close to the line. Adam felt the blade of Prince Jeri's sword near his throat.

"Don't worry!" said the prince. "I won't kill you!" I'll just push your body out of the ring with it!"

"Get up Adam!" Brian yelled. "We need that Relic!"

"Kick his ass!" Randy and John cried out,

_Good ideas._ Adam said in his mind, trying to push the blade that was near his throat. _But I can't do anything! I can't fail the Circus, and I can't fail Harmonia! Have to...win...need to win...I must...win!_

Adam's eyes began to glow an emerald green as he pushed Prince Jeri off of him. Everyone in the audience gasped as Adam slowly stood up, as his clothes started to change. He was now wearing a green tunic and a circlet made of twigs with a peridot in the center. He was also wielding a quiver of arrows on his back and a bow in his hand.

"What's going on?" said Jay, staring at his brother's transformation. "I've never seen him like this before..."

Adam smirked, bringing out an arrow. He positioned it on his bow, pulling the string back, his eyes focusing on the prince.

"You don't scare me!" said the Prince, although he was shaking a bit. "I'm not afraid of some...of some..."

He stopped as he stared at Adam's expression; for some reason, he felt some sort of power...a power as if he was a proud leader, with his eyes telling him to stay there...Prince Jeri didn't know what happened as he dropped his sword, and kept staring right at Adam.

"Get out of there Prince Jeri!" Molly cried out. "You'll get shot!"

"This is getting interesting." said the King, rubbing his chin. "Seems this child has some special power..."

Adam smirked as he released the arrow. Prince Jeri snapped out his trance as he bent his head back, as to not get hit by the arrow. It whizzed past by him and hit a tree, but he leaned back so far that he fell down, his upper body going past the boundary of the ring.

"This match is over!" said the King. "The winner is Adam!"

Adam lowered his bow as he closed his eyes. As he did, the clothes and weapon slowly disintegrated. He opened his eyes once more and looked around. "What happened?"

Prince Jeri sat up, still staring in shock at what had transpired in the last couple of seconds.

"That was so cool!" said Mickie, hugging Adam. "How the heck did you do that?!"

Adam shrugged his shoulders. "I really don't know that myself."

"Let's try it again though!" Said Jeff. He immediately climbed one of the trees, tossing a couple of apples into his brother's hands. "We'll just make you shoot arrows on these apples!"

"But I don't even have a bow and arrow!" Adam exclaimed. It was then Paul brought him a couple of arrows and a bow.

"Take these!" he said. "We've kept them prepared for the day we had a sharp shooter in our ranks." Brian then placed apples on top of Randy, John and Shannon's heads.

"All you have to do is knock the apples off their heads with your arrows!" said Brian. "If you do that, then you're a master archer!"

"Don't do things like that!" John yelled at him. "Do you know what will happen if he misses?!"

Brian thought at that for a while, thinking of Adam accidentally piercing their foreheads, hearts and possibly stomachs. "No." he said.

"Well," said Adam, placing an arrow to the bow. "Here goes nothing..."

He aimed the arrow right on the apple on Randy's forehead. Sweat fell from his brow as he pulled the bowstring. He released it, the arrow whizzing through the air; Randy closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable to hit...

When something fell onto the ground with a clunk.

He turned around slowly, seeing the apple now pierced with an arrow. "Whoa." He whispered.

Adam didn't hesitate as he shot the an arrow at John's apple, then hit Shannon's apple. Both of them fell with a clunk also.

"I don't believe this!" Said Ashley. "We finally have our archer!"

"How did you do that?" said Maria, shaking Adam. "How'd you do it?"

Adam looked at the bow in his hands. "I just know how to..." he murmured. "But I also felt someone...someone guiding me, someone that I know from long ago."

"Does this someone have a name?" Matt said, acting a bit curious.

Adam bit his tongue and closed his eyes. "A name..." He whispered. "D...Da...."

"HEY!" Adam turned around, seeing an arrow whiz by his head. He saw Prince Jeri with a bow and arrow in his hand.

"I want to challenge you to an archery contest!" said the cat prince. "I want a rematch for the loss you gave me!"

"Stop it!" said Jay. "Adam beat you fair and square so accept it!"

"Never!" Prince Jeri yelled at him. "Now move unless you want to die!"

Adam's eyes became green once more as he stood in front of Jay and stared deep into the eyes of the Prince. Amongst the commotion of the rest of the clan, nothing was said in between the Felix prince and the rest of the Dream Circus.

"You hurt him." said Adam, his voice filled with anger. "And I'll do more than pierce an arrow through your heart! No one hurts my brother, and if they do...I'll kill them! So shoot your arrow, and suffer the consequences for doing such an act!"

"Adam?" Jay asked quietly as he stared at his brother.

Prince Jeri's arms trembled as he raised the bow. He was about to pull the bowstring, but he dropped it, running away from the group.

Adam's eyes return to their shade of blue as he shook his head. "What just happened?"

"You scared the prince off." said Matt. "Whatever you said to him must've spooked him out."

"It seems that way," said Gangrel, rubbing his chin. "I wonder..."

"What's wrong?" asked Shannon.

"I was thinking that Adam has some sort of hidden power...or was an archer in a past life...it doesn't explain the green eyes though."

"Whatever it is," said John. "It scared the little guy away. I wonder where he is?"

**0 0 0 0 0 0**

Prince Jeri was near the Fantasia River, washing his face. The anger in Adam's eyes when he stared into his own just frightened him; he didn't want to go back there. He couldn't face his father and tell him he was scared by a pair of eyes.

"Way to go," he murmured to himself. "How are you going to explain yourself to everyone that you lost to a pair of eyes? You won't be able to show your face around the clan ever again. And worse of all..." he removed the necklace he was wearing, a small glass bead that looked like a cat's eye. "You have to give that guy the Treasure of our tribe. What else can go wrong?"

As he wiped his eyes, he saw a reflection in the water. He turned around as a massive hand was squeezing his throat. Prince Jeri was starting to turn blue as he stared into the heterochromatic eyes—grey and blue—of the man staring at him. A twisted smirk, showing his yellow teeth sent shivers down the boy's spine as the grip around his neck was released. Poor Prince Jeri didn't have time to react as he was pulled by his hair on the ground, dragged against the lush grass of the field.

"HELP!" He cried out. "S-Someone, help!" The man glared at the prince, yanking him onto his feet and slapped him across the face. Prince Jeri whimpered a bit as tears stained his eyes. The man's grin was still on his face as Prince Jeri's arms were wrapped with some type of chain. The prince of the Felix clan was about to say something when the man brought out a bloody meat hook in front of his eyes; Prince Jeri immediately placed his mouth shut. As the man dragged the boy away to wherever he was going to go, the small cat prince dropped the necklace from his hand, letting it settle against the soft green blades.

_Please..._He thought as the distance between him and the Fantasia River grew farther and farther apart. _Someone find out that I'm missing..._

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Adam closed his eyes as the children of the Felix clan stared at him in interest. He opened them, and freed his fingers from holding onto the bowstring. The arrow whizzed through the air, hitting the bull's-eye dead on.

"Wow!" said one of the children there. "You're amazing!"

"No, really I'm not." said Adam. "I guess it's just...natural."

Gangrel was still staring at Adam...something was strange about it. He closed his eyes, trying to remember something...all he had was something about a boy that looked like him, except he wore a mask...

"Still nothing." He muttered to himself. "But why does that seem so familiar?"

"Excuse me." a voice called out. Gangrel looked up to see Molly's panicked face in front of him. "Have you seen Prince Jeri?"

The ringmaster shook his head. "No, haven't seen him since Adam scared him off."

"You have to find him!" Molly cried out. "Prince Jeri went to the Fantasia River and hasn't come back yet! He dropped this though..." She showed him a small glass marble of a cat's eye tied with string. "It's his necklace that he received when he became 8. He's gone missing, and we must find him!"

Gangrel was about to call the rest of the Dream Circus, but decided to keep his mouth shut. He took them to a lot of trouble with Leonard, the King of the Lupins and Lucifer...it was time for them to have a break.

He stood up, staring at Molly. "Take me to the spot where you found that necklace; I'm going with you."

Molly nodded her head. "I hope we aren't too late in saving him."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Prince Jeri was dragged into a darker part of the woods surrounding the Fantasia River. He fell down with a thump, unable to say anything else. He sat there as the man gathered a pile of twigs and a couple of dried pine needles.

_I knew it!_ The Prince thought, seeing the man making a make-shift pile of sticks. _He's going to brand me, or maybe kill me and then eat me while I'm dying! I don't want my life to end this way...I never even got a chance to..._

A small 'boom' startled him from his thoughts as he saw the man blast a small flame of fire from his hand. The pile of sticks crackled in delight as the fire started to eat it away. Prince Jeri let out a sigh, until he found the man bringing out a knife. The blade shone through the flames, as Prince Jeri felt tears fall from his eyes. He then brought in a small sigh when he saw the man bring out a dead rabbit from his sack, skinning it with the knife.

Nothing else was said as the flames continued to eat away the twigs. The man finally tossed the fur of the mammal away. He stabbed the skinned animal onto a stick, roasting it over the open fire.

"U-um." Prince Jeri squeaked. "A-are you going to kill me?"

The man stared at the young boy, his left blue eye just piercing into him; it was at that moment Prince Jeri's stomach began to growl. The man went back to turning his food amongst the fire, the fat dripping onto the flames, sizzling amongst the quiet sky.

"I won't kill you." the man murmured. "I'll feed you, but I won't kill you."

"Then why do you want me in the first place?" Prince Jeri asked him. "If you're not going to kill me, why did you kidnap me?"

The man stayed silent for a while as Jeri was trying to see if the man was armed with anything else aside from his tattered pants and shirt on him. There were also many small burlap sacks he carried, and there was the hook and chain that bound the Felix prince's wrists together.

"Because," the man answered. "I need answers for my questions; I don't need money, I just need those answers. In return, the man wants the Treasure from the Felix Clan...but I got something better. You."

Prince Jeri's stomach growled louder as the man pulled the warm rabbit out with his left hand; the boy noticed that he was able to pick it up without getting burned...Strange...

"Doesn't that hurt?" he asked. "I mean, you could get first-degree burns for doing that."

"Fire doesn't hurt me, kid." said the man. "I've gotten used to it." There was more silence for a while as the rabbit was ripped into two pieces, then thrown in front of the Prince, who immediately bit it with his teeth. The meat was very tender as the Prince immediately chewed it away.

"Kane." the man said suddenly. Prince Jeri dropped the piece of meat in his mouth and swallowed.

"Huh?" he said in confusion. Kane just rolled his eyes.

"My name." Prince Jeri immediately understood and nodded his head. He then lunged his head toward the meat and began to chew it once more. The young boy's ears started to pick up on someone heading toward them.

Kane dropped the carcass of the rabbit he was eating, thrusting his left hand into the fire. The fire immediately died out, but his hand was glowing in a blaze. The bushes near them rustled revealing the figures of Molly and Gangrel.

"Prince Jeri!" Molly cried out, running up to the boy. "I've missed you so!"

"Molly!" Jeri cried out, running up to her. Unfortunately, Kane noticed this and immediately yanked the meat hook. Prince Jeri screamed as Kane pulled him closer and closer...

"Don't you touch a hair on his head!" Said Molly lungging at Kane, her claws were out, ready to tear into Kane's throat. Kane smirked as he brought out the frightened and petrified form of Prince Jeri in front of her. She gasped as she fell to the ground, unable to hurt her friend.

"I knew you'd see it that way." said Kane, pushing Prince Jeri into Molly. He then brought out his burning hand in front of them. "Prepare to BURN!"

Gangrel saw this, seeing the petrified children unable to get away from the blast. His breathing started to quicken, his heart pumping quickly, and a memory came into his mind. Something about a boy being killed in front of his eyes...and the look of terror on his face as he was being killed...

His body started to shake with some sort of power...he could barely breathe as he clenched onto his chest where his heart was. He closed his eyes as energy started to flow through him.

Kane released the fireball at Molly and Prince Jeri. The two closed their eyes, but instead of getting incinerated, the flame stopped in mid-air, inches away from their noses.

"What?!" Kane gasped out. He then turned to Gangrel, his eyes widening about. "You..."

Molly turned around to see what was supposed to be Gangrel, but he was different. For one thing, he looked a lot younger—possibly around 5—and his grey eyes were replaced with a dark grey voidless orbs. A silver earring was pierced on his left ear and he was wearing a white robe that went down to his bare feet. A white angel's wing and a black demon's wing was perched on his back and a silver bracelet on his right hand. A small smile was on his face, eerily contrasting with his eyes.

The small flame soon disintegrated into nothing as Kane charged up to the small boy. Gangrel just stood there and raised a hand as chains bound Kane's hands and legs. No matter how hard he tried to pull on it, it was no use. Gangrel still had his eyes on Kane and that smile on his face.

"It's not nice to try to kill children." said Gangrel in a soft and eerie voice. "After all, they are young and fragile...doing something like that will scar them for life. Then they'll complete an abusive cycle with the ones they love...I'm ashamed of you, you looked so kind to Prince Jeri. Oh well...I'll have to kill you for that!"

Kane strained against the chains until they tore apart by his bare strength. He then blasted fire against the ones that were tying his legs together and broke them off. Gangrel just shook his head as his hair started to gain black streaks.

"Now, leave." Gangrel continued. "Leave these two alone, or else I will make you relive your worst fears, and better yet..." His voice sounded demonic as he added the last lines. "I'll make you stay in that fear realm forever and make you unable to function anymore!"

Prince Jeri started to cry as he nuzzled against Molly's chest. "He's so scary...he's so scary, Molly!"

Molly hugged the young prince tighter and closed her eyes. "Don't worry, Prince Jeri. I'll protect you."

As she said this Kane's mind flash backed to that dreadful scene...the mausoleum, and the site of seeing his parents die in agony from a fiery blaze...he could never forget that scene, especially because of who caused it.

Gangrel smirked as he flew into the air, then placed his hand on Kane's forehead. "BURN!!!" Gangrel yelled as an intense and searing heat appeared from his hand.

The only thing that Molly and Prince Jeri remembered of that scene were the horrible screams that came from Kane's throat. Kane pushed the boy off of him, the upper part of his face nearly burnt off. He covered it with a hand as he ran off.

Prince Jeri opened his eyes as he saw Gangrel remove the chains binding his wrists. He was still terrified of him though.

"T-thank you." Prince Jeri was able to say as Gangrel turned around. "B-but how did you do that?"

Gangrel didn't say anything as he placed his hands into the water as if he was looking for something. A smile formed on his lips as he pulled something out of the river; A crystal orb with a small water lily inside it.

"The Water Lily Orb!" Molly cried out. "But how did he--"

She couldn't finish as Gangrel started to squeeze it. The crystal started to turn black as the look on Gangrel's face started to look...maniacal. But maniacal wasn't the right word for this scene actually.

"He's going to shatter it!" Prince Jeri cried out. "If he does...then...then...OH NO!"

Cracks appeared on the Orb until it finally shattered into a million pieces, but the water lily was intact. Gangrel smiled softly, kneeling down and crawling to the flower, despite the cuts and scratches he got on his palms for letting his glass scrape against them. As he started to smell the flower, the waters of the Fantasia River started to dry up.

"This is not good." said Molly. "We're doomed!"

It was at that point Gangrel turned around and looked at Molly and Prince Jeri straight into their eyes.

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"Pay up." said Shannon, as the rest of the Dream Circus handed him 2 melodi. They were all staring at Adam who was continuing to hit bull's-eyes on the targets.

"Damn it!" said Paul. "How the heck does he keep hitting the target?"

"Not sure." said Ashley. "But let's hope he doesn't lose it though."

Jay stared at Adam's determined look as he sensed something...the whole scenery changed as Jay soon found himself in the banks of a dried of river, and the terrified faces of both Prince Jeri and Molly. What was worse was that they were being assaulted by a young boy with an angel's wing and a demon's wing on him, staring at him with soulless grey eyes.

"Oh my god..." He whispered.

"What's going on, Jay?" asked Maria. She placed a hand on his shoulder, causing him to get out of his trance.

Jay shakily looked at the rest of the Circus. "I...saw a vision of Molly and Prince Jeri about to be attacked by some sort of strange being..."

"Speaking of that," said Randy. "Gangrel hasn't returned...this can't be good."

Adam gathered the arrows that were stuck to the target and place them onto his quiver. "We've got go to find them, after all, that prince owes me that Relic."

John stared at the King of the Felix Clan, who was asleep. "We better go, if he finds out his son is gone by the time he wakes up...I shudder to think what will happen."

Stryker leapt onto Adam's shoulder as the group headed out of the area.

"Follow me!" said Jay. "I think I know where these guys are!"

"Like we have no other choice." Matt muttered. "But we've trusted you before, so we'll trust you on taking us there!"

Jay smiled as the 12 started to run toward the site of the vision.

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Lord David saw through his shimmering portal the remains of the Water Lily Orb. "What an unusual sequences of events." He murmured. "I did not expect that all."

"What shall we do, my lord?" asked Ariel. "Do we take action?

Lord David turned to her shaking his head. "No, we shall see what develops from this little act. If we were to intervene, despite not knowing what was in front of us, then there would be a chance that we would fail at our goal."

Kevin looked up at his leader. "Surely we must do something about this dilemma."

Lord David just turned his face back to the mirror and back to the strange winged boy. "No...let us see what is in store for us..."

Prince Jeri and Molly started to scream as the boy started to come closer to them. A shimmering sword was in his hands and a maniacal grin was on his face.

He raised the sword over his head.

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_What is going on with Adam's ability with being an archer?_

_What was the answer to Kane's question?_

_What has happened to Gangrel?_

_And will both Prince Jeri and Molly make it out alive?_

_More questions, and many answers will soon come in the next chapter!_

_Until then, read and review!_


	10. Eridanus, The River of Myth

_Well, here's the tenth chapter! And many things are starting to set in motion! _

_Hold on because we're in for a doozy!_

__ _ __ ___ _ __ _ _ __ __ ___ _ _ _ ___ __ __ _ _ _

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**Masquerade in the Night**

**by Green Phantom Queen**

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**Chapter 10-Eridanus, the River of Myth**

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Molly and Prince Jeri screamed as Gangrel brought down the sword he carried in his hands.

But he was stopped when he saw an arrow flying at him through the corner of his eye. He turned around, immediately slicing the poor piece of wood into two. It fell down onto the grass as the Dream Circus ran up to him.

"You!" Adam said, pointing his bow and arrow at Gangrel. "Who are you?!"

Prince Jeri then tried to speak. "H...he....he...he......"

"What is it?" said Jay.

Prince Jeri couldn't finish as Gangrel immediately turned around and placed the sword in front of Molly and the Prince of the Felix clan. A twisted smile was on his face as he walked toward them.

"Step away from them!" said Jay, bringing out a Sphere with stars floating in it. "I mean it! Get away now!" He threw the Sphere but Gangrel turned around and sliced it, unleashing a storm of stars around him.

"NOW!" Matt blew a stream of fire as Jeff charged with red flames in his hands. The two blasts of pyro had their impact on the boy, but it dispersed to reveal that not a single burn was on him, although the sword he had in his hand was now nothing more than a puddle of melted steel.

"No way..." Jeff gasped. He didn't say anything else as Gangrel immediately grabbed his throat, trying to choke him.

"Now, now." said Gangrel in his soft and eerie tone. "Why do you have to resort to fire? Don't you know how dangerous a single flame can be? A single spark can destroy a forest, and destroy a family forever. But with one fatal stroke, a single flame can be blown away. Your life will be like that soon enough..."

Matt saw Jeff's face turning blue as he then charged up to Gangrel. He noticed this and immediately grabbed the elder Hardy's neck with his other hand. Matt tried to gasp out for air, but his head started to spin and black spots appeared in his vision.

"NO!" Jay cried out running up to the Hardys. John and Randy immediately grabbed an arm to stop him. "What are you doing?! We have to stop him!"

"But you're going to die also!" Randy cried out.

"We can't lose a member of the Circus!" John yelled. "Don't be a hero!"

"I don't care!" said Jay. "They've suffered more than Adam and I have! I won't let them die!"

As he said that his started to glow in a blue light. John and Randy released their grip and stepped back as a blue trident encrusted with gems appeared in Jay's hands. His outfit then transformed into a blue tunic going down to his ankles and a crown of silver, spiky coral. His eyes were replaced with a blue glow.

Gangrel noticed this and dropped Matt and Jeff down to the ground, both gasping for breath. He then turned to Jay with a determined look on his face.

"You." he hissed. "I despise your kind..."

"Step away from those two." Jay said in a calm voice. "If you do not want to die, then return from whence you came."

Adam noticed the transformation in his brother, his eyes slowly returning to his emerald shade.

Shannon turned his head around, seeing Adam's green tunic return. "Um guys..." he said. "We should get out of the way."

Jay lifted his weapon into the sky as the cloudy sky started to boom with thunder. Suddenly, a torrent of rain washed down, drenching everyone in water. Stryker leapt off of Adam's shoulder and snarled at Gangrel.

"I hate water!" Prince Jeri whined. "It reminds me of all those baths I had to take!"

Adam stared at Jay. "We must get rid of this menace now...or else."

Jay nodded. "Understood." He started to twirl his trident in the rain, a small orb of water appearing in front of the prongs. He then positioned it in front of Gangrel and fired the water at him. Adam followed with a quick shot from his arrow. The arrow soon passed through the water, glowing a blue color. It hit Gangrel, encasing him in a block of ice.

"That's amazing!" said Shannon. "That's high class alchemy! Only ones with an alchemy bow can do that...and it takes an archer with great skills..."

"We have to do something though." said Maria. "Or else Prince Jeri and Molly will die." She closed her eyes, her heart beating loudly. "We have to do something... I don't want another person to die...I just don't want to feel weak..."

That's when she felt something fall from the pocket of her skirt. She turned around and picked up a paintbrush that had a blob of rainbow paint on it.

"What the heck?" said Mickie, staring at it. "Is that a Rainbow Brush?!"

"Dude!" Brian cried out. "You had that the whole time?! That is a rare artifact; by using your thoughts, you can make anything you paint come to life."

"Really?" said Maria. "I just had this with me ever since I could remember. I wonder..." She stared at her Silver Bell Staff and then the paintbrush. "I hope this works..." She placed the paintbrush on top of her staff and it started to glow slightly.

"No way..." Paul whispered. "She's doing Fusion Alchemy!"

"Um, what?" said Ashley, question marks floating around her.

"Fusion Alchemy," Paul explained. "Is a rare talent, combining two items into a special super weapon. However, it's very risky, and you need the right weapons or tools to do it."

Maria opened her eyes to find her Silver Bell Staff had transformed . It now had a water drop on the top, glowing in many colors of the rainbow. The rest of the staff looked similar to glass. The small bells were also made of glass and began to jingle softly.

That's when everyone heard the crack. They turned around and the ice surrounding Gangrel was starting to break. The rain pouring against all of them didn't help them out either.

"All right!" said Maria. "Now it's time to try out my new Rain Bow Staff!"

"Huh?" Everyone said around her. Maria just smiled as she closed her eyes. The staff in her hand immediately transformed into a crossbow, still made of glass.

"Amazing." said Adam. "Her staff now has the properties of shape shifting into anything she wants." A smile was on his face. "But can it beat my arrows?"

"Let's find out!" said Maria, smiling. She turned to Jay, positioning her crossbow. "Hey, Jay!" She cried. "Heads up!"

She fired the trigger from her crossbow, and an arrow that looked similar to a blob of rainbow paint whizzed by and hit the ice cube that was surrounding Gangrel. The next thing that happened was an explosion of rainbow colored smoke.

"Oooh..." said Prince Jeri. "Pretty colors." Molly immediately grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the fight.

The smoke dissipated and it is revealed that the arrow had transformed into a set of chains binding his leg and feet. Everyone just gasped at how Gangrel tried to struggle from the grip of the chains, but to no avail.

Maria stared at all of them. "Well," she said. "Don't just stand there! Get him!"

Shannon smirked as his whole body grew scales. "Let'ssss...go!" He immediately lunged toward Gangrel, who was still struggling with his bonds. He opened his mouth, a set of fangs grew from them and he immediately bit his neck.

"Gross." Molly said, seeing the sight. "What is he doing to him?"

Prince Jeri saw some sort of venom escaping Shannon's fangs and gasped. "Don't kill him!" He cried out. "He...he..."

He didn't have time to react as Gangrel broke free of his prison and grabbed Shannon's neck. Getting a good grip he hurled it and his body collided with Ashley, Mickie and John, all of them falling with a thud.

Matt and Jeff slowly got up as they tried to return any oxygen they lost in their bodies. "What the heck is going on here?" Matt exclaimed.

Randy brought out his spell book, whispered a spell under his breath and a bolt of lightning hit Gangrel across the chest. Actually, it would've if Gangrel hadn't teleported in time.

"Wha--?" Randy gasped out. He turned around and got a punch in the face by the young boy.

"This does not look good!" said Paul. "What do we do now?!"

Brian closed his eyes as his black feathered wings grew from his back. He leapt into the air then swooped down, trying to aim a punch at him. Unfortunately the boy saw this and leapt into the air, landing on top of Brian's back as the black jester flew into the air.

Brian turned around. "Oh god, don't!"

The boy started to tug and twist amongst the wings, making Brian scream in pain. Feathers started to be torn apart from the bone and all that was left was a tangled mess as Brian's frail body started to fall and fall, and fall once more into the banks of the empty Fantasia river.

"BRIAN!" Paul cried out, running to catch his friend. Unfortunately, Gangrel noticed this and a blast of energy came from his hand. It hit Paul and he fell onto the banks of the river with a thump. The Latino weakly raised his hand, a tear falling down his eyes as he saw his friend falling to his death.

"I'm sorry..." He whispered, as his eyes started to close. As Brian's limp body started to near the ground, arms started to grow out of the ground, grabbing onto him and cushioning his fall. They then sank down as Brian's landing softened and his eyes were also closed.

"Brian, Paul!" said Ashley, running up to them. Mickie, John and Shannon followed her as Gangrel descended into the ground. Gangrel noticed the mark on Brian's forehead and anger grew from his face.

"DIE!" He roared, summoning a dagger form thin air. Brian could weakly see a dagger going into his chest...

But it was stopped as John transformed into a wolf and tackled Gangrel into the ground. Shannon immediately grabbed Brian in his arms and carried him on his back. Stryker ran from Adam and immediately bit Gangrel's leg, letting her fangs pierce into his flesh.

"Damn it," Shannon muttered. "He's got to lay down on the cream puffs."

Gangrel snarled as the rain pouring down started to howl and a bolt of lightning struck down behind him, giving him a more maniacal look. Stryker and John immediately backed away.

"Why are you doing this?!" Ashley cried out. "What do you have against us?!"

"It's not you I'm going after, little girl." Gangrel sneered. "It's them...I was mommy and daddy's first child, but then they devoted more attention to them! They abandoned me!" He then started to scream. "I'LL MAKE THEM REMEMBER! I'LL KILL THEM ALL UNTIL I'M THE ONLY ONE LEFT!"

"Not if we stop you!" said Mickie, both girls brandishing out their Silver Bell Staffs. John growled at Gangrel, biting on his leg.

"Fire!" said Ashley as bursts of silver magic came from their staffs, hitting Gangrel square in the chest. He fell back as John released his grip on his leg.

"Who are you?!" John screamed at the boy. "And where's Gangrel?"

The boy sat up, a wicked grin on his face. "I am known as Dusk, and I do not know this Gangrel you are talking about. But if you don't get in the way, I doubt this Gangrel will be able to face the fact that someone he knows is gone!"

"Stop this madness, Dusk!" said Jay, pointing his trident at the boy. "Leave now before you mess with us!"

"If you don't, then we'll kill you on the spot!" said Adam, pointing his bow and arrow at him.

"I hate to do this, but it's for Gangrel!" said Maria, brandishing her Rain Bow Staff.

"And for the rest of the Dream Circus!" said Matt and Jeff, their hands ablaze with fire.

"Prepare to die!" said Shannon.

"By all of us!" Ashley and Mickie added.

Dusk grinned as all of the Dream Circus soon became electrocuted by lightning falling down from the sky. Prince Jeri and Molly—who were silent for the whole fight—screamed in terror, which was mixed with the screams of pain from the rest of the Circus. One by one, the members of the Circus fell until all that was left were their unconscious bodies and the grin on Dusk's face.

"You monster!" said Molly charging up to him. "Stop it now!"

"Molly!" Prince Jeri cried out. "Don't do it!"

Molly turned around and smiled. "It is my duty to protect your highness. If I die, as long as you are protected then I am happy."

"How pathetic." Dusk spat. "Mommy and Daddy never said stuff like that to me." He brought out an orb of black energy and hurled it at Molly. Molly screamed as she flew into the air and fell near Prince Jeri's feet.

"Molly..." Prince Jeri whispered. Tears fell from his eyes as he screamed to the heavens. His body started to change, his mane became bigger, and his whole body became more of a lion's. He opened his eyes, they now became yellow with slits for irises.

Dusk's lips turned to a small frown when he saw Prince Jeri's new form. He was now wearing two golden bracelets on each arm and a small ring on his tail. Around his neck was a necklace of teeth and a circlet of gold was around his forehead.

"You will pay for your crimes, Dusk." Prince Jeri growled.

"You don't scare me." said Dusk. He didn't have time to finish as Prince Jeri charged toward him on all fours. He tackled Dusk onto the ground, letting out a loud roar once more. Dusk couldn't do anything as Prince Jeri brought down his claws and slashed his chest. The only thing that Dusk could do was scream.

Prince Jeri got off of the boy as Dusk collapsed to the ground, panting. "Damn it..." Dusk whispered. "I used up too much energy..." He smirked at Prince Jeri. "You win for now, but I have to say...you were the first one I've ever met who charged up to me and harm me to this extent. Then again...I did too many tricks instead of killing them on the spot."

He closed his eyes as he was soon engulfed in a black light...when it dimmed down, all that was left was Gangrel, who was sleeping soundly. The weird thing was that there was no scratch marks, nor blood dripping from his chest. The rain surrounding the area started to die down, as the clouds started to disperse.

Prince Jeri closed his eyes as his transformation became reversed, and he was soon back to his normal self. He turned around to see Molly's unconscious body.

"Molly," He said, embracing her. "I'm so sorry...I didn't mean to drag you into this mess." Tears fell from his eyes as Molly started to wake up. Her eyes fluttered softly as she stared at the prince.

"Prince Jeri." she whispered. "You're all right, aren't you?"

Prince Jeri smiled as the two embraced, the Prince continuing to sob in her arms.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Paul was the first to wake up, rubbing his head. "What happened?"

He then turned to Brian, gasping in shock as he saw the ruined state of his friend's wings. He gently poked one of the feather still attached to the bone, but it fell down.

"Brian..." He whispered. "I'm so sorry...I couldn't help..."

Brian slowly got up, and as if by chance, his wings started to grow black feathers. Paul could only gasp as Brian sat up, his wings stretching out and glowing in a soft blue light.

"Man," said Brian. "What happened?" He didn't get an answer, but a hug from London, who was hugging him tightly.

"Brian." said Paul. "Your wings...they're healed!"

"They are?" Brian turned around, seeing his wings fluff up a bit. "I guess they are...but I wonder...what cushioned my fall?"

"Paul did, silly." Brian and Paul looked to see Maria come up to them, still clutching onto her Rain Bow Staff. "Paul has the ability of Limb Replication, his hands caught you when you fell and gently cradled you down to the Earth."

Brian nodded his head in understanding...but then had strange thoughts of Paul using those hands to do...strange things.

"Okay..." He said. "That's weird..."

Ashley and Mickie woke up,, immediately going to Maria. "You alright?" Ashley asked her.

Maria nodded her head. "Of course I am!" she said, looking for any wounds on her body. There were none. "Somehow all the scars we got from that fight just vanished!"

Matt and Jeff hugged each other and Shannon joined in, tears streaming from their eyes.

"I can't lose you, Mattie!" Jeff cried.

"I can't lose you too, Jeffro!" Matt added.

"I can't lose you both!" said Shannon. "You were my first friends in a long time!"

John nuzzled against Randy's cheek, licking him all over the face. He whined softly as Randy started to wake up. Randy smiled softly as John started to lick him again.

"Okay," said Randy, laughing a bit. "That's enough. I'm fine."

"I'm just checking." said John.

Jay and Adam woke up, both with splitting headaches, Stryker came to Adam's side, letting out a small mew."

"What happened back there?" said Jay. "Last thing I remember is Matt and Jeff suffocating to death...but I sort of remember bits and pieces of it. Something about Dusk, and being hit by lightning..."

"Same here." said Adam. "Man, that hurt. I'm glad that we were healed though." He stared at Stryker who smiled at him and started to purr.

"Hey!" Prince Jeri cried to the circus. "Look over here!"

The 12 members of the Circus, plus Stryker, followed the sound of his voice and reached him, only to find Prince Jeri and Molly nursing Gangrel.

"That's strange." said Matt, rubbing his chin. "Where did Dusk go?"

"And how did Gangrel end up here?" said Ashley.

"Well..." said Prince Jeri, his cat ears drooping a bit. "Dusk is Gangrel...or rather, Gangrel is Dusk. It's complicated but..."

"When Gangrel and I found who had taken Prince Jeri captive, the man was going to kill us." Molly explained. "Then somehow Gangrel must've transformed into Dusk, and he scared off the scary man. But then, he...he destroyed the Water Lily Orb, and was about to kill us if you didn't intervene."

"The Water Lily Orb is destroyed?!" Jay cried out. "But...what's going to happen to the river?"

Molly bowed her head. "Whoever drank from the water will become 'withdrawn'." She murmured. "They'll lose control of themselves, they'll lose their minds in a couple of hours...The waters were tainted long ago, but the Water Lily Orb was created to purify the waters...without it, the Felix clan will die in a day."

"Wish we could do something to help." said Maria. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. "Maybe we can!"

"What are you talking about Maria?" said Shannon.

Maria stared at Matt. "Matt, you still have that Crystal Rose?"

Matt nodded is head, bringing out the small jeweled flower. "Yeah, but what are you thinking of?"

Maria grabbed the flower into her hands. "A Crystal Rose grows in pure water, right? We found this in the Dowell Springs, and inside the crystals is water. They use that water from inside to keep it healthy. So..."

She tapped the Crystal Rose with her Staff, it then transformed into something similar to a blue water lily. She then placed into the empty riverbed and pulled out a small glass orb from her pocket.

"What's that?" Prince Jeri said, looking curious at it.

"It's just a plain old crystal ball." said Maria. "I found it one day and thought it'd bring me good luck. But now..." She brought the orb and flower together, closing her eyes as the two combined into something similar to the original Water Lily Orb.

"All we have to do is place it in the river and then it'll fill up." said Maria, a bright smile on her face. Seconds passed, then minutes, until Maria's eyes watered with tears.

"It's not working..." Tears fell down her face as she said that. "I tried my hardest, but I always screw up in the end, don't I?"

"You did your best, Maria." said Ashley, patting her on the back. "But it was out of your control."

Suddenly rain started to fall down, a single drop came down on the orb. Then another, and another...until a huge shower of rain fell down amongst everyone.

"It worked..." Mickie whispered. "It worked! Maria, you're a genius!"

Maria wiped away a tear from her eye as the rain started to fill the river up. It was also at that time Gangrel slowly woke up.

"Damn," he said, stretching his arms. "That was the best sleep I had in a while." He then noticed the rain falling down.

"What's going on here?" he said to the other members of the Circus. The 12 teenagers looked at each other with worried looks.

"Um," said Paul. "We'll tell you on the way back."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 **

The small group finally made it back to the forest of the Felix clan, all soaked and exhausted. John immediately shook out all the water that was stuck in his silver fur, drenching everyone else in more water. Fortunately for them, everyone else in the tribe was fast asleep...possibly from the sound of rain that came through. Everone that is, except Prince Jeri's father.

The Felix King came to Prince Jeri. "What happened to you, my son?"

Prince Jeri's ears drooped. "I got kidnapped...and then Molly and Gangrel went to save me...then somehow this strange being came and then the Dream Circus came to save me...then this strange being nearly killed everyone.." he said the last part softly. "And I transformed into this beast."

The King sighed as he stared eye to eye with his son. "My boy." he started. "I was going to tell you this when you were older, but now is the best time to do it. You were given the blessing of the great Lion himself, Leo."

"Leo?" Molly gasped out. "But that's impossible!"

The King just nodded his head. "Impossible, yes. But then again, nothing can be impossible as long as you have the belief to continue."

"Um, sir?" said Adam. "Not to be rude, but where's the Treasure of your kingdom?"

"It's right here." said Molly, bringing out the necklace she was saving. "The Cat's Eye, it showed the Felix Clan how to survive in the conditions they were living in at that time. It is our symbol of hope when troubles look down. And now..."

"That, and the two of you belong to the Circus." The King added. Prince Jeri and Molly gasped in surprise.

"Father," said Prince Jeri. "You don't seriously mean..."

"I mean it." said the King. "The time is for you to explore the world, and the members of the Dream Circus were there by your side when you were in trouble. Those are good friends for you to have."

Prince Jeri gasped, then let tears fall from his eyes. "Thank you." he whispered.

Gangrel patted Prince Jeri's head then stretched a hand out to him. "Welcome to our little family, Prince Jeri. Or should I say, Chris Jericho?"

"And we can't forget about Molly Holly." said Jeff, grabbing her hand. "You're welcome to stay with us if you want."

"I would be honored to." she replied. "Prince Jeri and I could do a fabulous knife throwing act for you. Or Prince Jeri can do a sword swallowing act."

"Please, Molly." said Prince Jeri. "Don't embarrass me like that."

"That would be excellent!" said Matt. "We're always looking for more acts in our little Circus! And it'd be perfect if you were there."

"And we're planning on having a performance in Modera for tomorrow." John added.

"MODERA?!" Brian, Paul, Ashley and Maria yelled out. "We're going to MODERA?!"

"What's with the shocked faces?" said Jay. "Modera is famous for its clothes and fabric."

"Plus the Recorder Archives." said Randy. "They hold the most documents about Harmonia and its history."

"It was where we were born...supposedly." said Brian. "The four of us met up in an orphanage...and we were treated badly."

"And badly is by that some were treated better than others." Paul added. "The four of us were ridiculed by our looks or our personalities..."

"They wouldn't leave us alone." Ashley continued. "Not even when we told them to stop."

"They even tried to destroy all we had as a way of signaling their 'dominance' over us." Maria finished. "I don't want to go back there again."

"Do not worry," said Gangrel. "I will make sure no one will hurt you."

"But what about you yourself?" John muttered under his breath before whispering to Shannon, "He doesn't even know that he was the one that nearly tried to kill us."

"And let's keep it that way." Shannon added. "Having some sort of spirit inside you is not as important as the fact that Darkness is coming."

Stryker mewed as she got on Adam's shoulder. Adam stared at her. "I know," He said. "Things have gotten a bit more exciting."

"Cheer up!" said Jeff to Paul, Brian, Ashley and Maria. "If you weren't in the orphanage, then the Dream Circus would've never been formed! And none of us would be here right now with you!"

"He's right." said Gangrel. "So stop feeling sorry for yourselves and let's get going."

Prince Jeri gave his father a small hug. "Goodbye, Father. I'll make sure that I'll make the Felix clan proud."

The King chuckled. "Hold on." He said. "I'm not going to let you go that easily without a feast. A feast to celebrate Prince Jeri and Molly's fantastic journey to the lands unknown!"

"All right!" said Adam. "A feast!"

"Awesome!" Jay added.

Gangrel stood up, shaking the King's hand. "We would be honored." It was there that Molly saw something sticking out of Gangrel's back.

"Um," she said, seeing some lines from the back of his neck. "Good sir," she said. "Can you remove your shirt? I think there's some mark on there."

"Really?" Gangrel said, raising an eyebrow. "Well..." He immediately removed his shirt, and to the shock of the Dream Circus...there was something on there. It looked like a wing design, created with spirals and many strange symbols on it. What was weird is that the left 'wing' was a black color, and the right 'wing' was a white color. What was scarier is that it was already draping down his shoulder blades.

"That's strange." said Maria, bringing out her sketchbook. "Let me sketch it down for future reference."

"You mean that old thing?" said Gangrel. "It's just a...a..."

He stopped, trying to remember what he was going to say. "Funny..." he muttered. "I don't remember where I got it from..."

"Could it be related to Dusk?" Matt whispered to Jeff. Jeff shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, we'll worry about that later." said Prince Jeri. "Right now, it's PARTY TIME!"

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Lord David stared at the markings on Gangrel's back through his mirror. Something was familiar about them....

"My lord," said Kevin. "What is your plan now?"

Lord David turned to his two disciples, crossing his arms and closed his eyes. He stayed in that position, thinking of something...then opened his blue eyes to both Kevin and Ariel.

"We're going to have to go to _**that**_ procedure." He said.

"What?!" Ariel shrieked out. "You're not saying..."

Lord David nodded his head. "Our little 'ventriloquist'." He said. "His voice, although loud, will be perfect for what I have in store..."

"And then...we'll have a couple of songbirds in our cage, reading to sing away the songs that we want them to sing..."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 **

After the feast was over, the Dream Circus—plus their newest members Prince Jeri and Molly—were already off to bed. Everyone was exhausted from that entire day and immediately went to sleep.

Everyone, that is, except Gangrel.

He was laying his head on a pillow, staring off into the night sky. For some reason...he couldn't recall anything after seeing Prince Jeri and Molly being incinerated. It wasn't the first time he couldn't remember, actually. Before meeting up and creating the Dream Circus, he had no recollection of who he was...except of a young boy and his death. After that, everything else was a huge blank.

He only knew that his name was Gangrel—which was something that a voice told him—and that he was so far the ringleader of the Dream Circus. He didn't know where he was born, nor when—but he knew he was around 25—and he didn't know who his family was and such. He still remembered having that "wing" tattoo on his neck, but seeing himself in the mirror, reminded him that it was never down to his shoulder blades before.

But what was he? Who was he? And why the tattoo? He tried to think of many answers to those questions...but nothing came out.

_**And who are you? **_Gangrel sat up, when he heard that voice, trying to figure out who it was from.

_Can you read my thoughts? _The ringmaster said in his mind. He somehow felt the figure nod his head.

_**Of course I can. I'm you, and you're me. We're two sides of the same coin, so to speak.**_

_Then why have I not seen you before?_

A shrug. _**Not sure. Maybe because we never knew about each other...I'm Daybreak, by the way. And you?**_

_...Gangrel....or at least, that's what I know of myself. _

_**You don't know who you are either, huh? That makes two of us, I guess.**_

_Do you know anything about me in general? Like that tattoo I have on my back...It looks like a pair of wings, with the left being black, and the right being white._

_**Well, the only thing I could say is that looks similar to the wings I have; the left one is black, and the right one is white.**_

_But how is that connected to me?_

Another shrug. _**That I don't know. I'm sorry.**_

_But at least I have someone who understands what I'm going through...I'm tired, can we talk tomorrow?_

_**Sure. I'll be here, inside you...**_

_Goodnight then._

_**Goodnight.**_

Gangrel laid down on his bed once more, his closed tight as he started to fall asleep. Dusk looked down on him in his spirit form, an evil smile on his face.

"Heh." he said to himself. "I'm Daybreak and I don't know who I am." His eyes narrowed. "Of course I know who I am, and Mommy and Daddy know that too." His eyes glowed softly. "Mommy and Daddy...why? Why did you leave me behind?" A tear fell down his eye as his anger came once more. "No...I'll make Mommy and Daddy their only child...I'll kill them all..."

He ended it with a small laugh as he vanished into small black sparks. Gangrel rolled to the side, as the wing tattoo on his back started to go past his shoulder blades. All around him, tendrils of wispy smoke started to cover him, cradle him, coax him...

He did not notice them as his eyes slowly opened, revealing a pair of glazed smoky grey eyes.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

_Who is Dusk? And who is he after?_

_What will happen now that the Dream Circus has two new members in their family?_

_Who is this person that Lord David is sending to attack the Circus?_

_And what is that tattoo on Gangrel's back?_

_All this and more in the next chapter!_

_Until then, read and review!_


	11. Chamaeleon, The Chameleon

_Well...let's get to chapter 11! Thanks to everyone who has given a review to my story and let it continue!_

_Let's go!_

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**Masquerade in the Night**

**by Green Phantom Queen**

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**Chapter 11-Chamaeleon, The Chameleon**

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The next morning, Prince Jeri and Molly waved goodbye to their family and started to pack their belongings. The children of the tribe showered them with flowers, hugs and wishes for the best. It took about an hour before they finally got back to the Circus tent.

"There you are!" said Adam. "Welcome to the Dream Circus!"

"It seems amazing." said Molly. "Will you give us a tour?"

"No." said Adam. "I'm busy with the Sphinxes for later tonight. But Gangrel should help you out. He should be preparing the props and the schedule for tonight's performance."

"Sphinxes?" Prince Jeri gasped out. "You have Sphinxes?" His ears started to twitch in excitement. "Can I see them?"

"Maybe later." said Adam, patting his head. "Now, go on and meet up with the ringleader, just take a left past the fire-breathing boys and then a right at the boy with the ghosts."

The two nodded their heads and soon followed the path. They immediately found Matt and Jeff with some torches.

"Where's the 'fire-breathing'?" said Prince Jeri. It was then Matt blew on torches, and a burst of fire came out of his mouth.

"Wow..." said Prince Jeri, trying to get closer to them. Jeff didn't pay any attention as the torches in his hands were lit with small flames. Jeff than started to move his hips to an unknown rhythm, juggling the torches in the air. Molly dragged Prince Jeri away from the two before he could get incinerated.

"Take a left there..." said Molly, pushing Prince Jeri away. "Then we have to find the boy with the..."

She looked to her right, seeing Randy surrounded by wispy smoky orbs. He was moving his hands like a conductor at an orchestra and the smokes started to circle him.

"What the heck?" said Molly. The smokes transformed into transparent figures who were dancing to a strand of faint music. They looked so happy as they waltzed away to the notes that were floating around them.

"Whoa...." said Prince Jeri. "Can we take a closer look?"

"Perhaps we can do it as soon as we get acquainted with the Ringleader." said Molly, taking a right past Randy. The two eventually made it to a small clearing that had a table for at least 15 people, a couple of baskets full of produce, and a pot bubbling away a delicious stew. They immediately saw Gangrel, placing more wood for the fire and immediately ran up to him.

"There you are!" said Molly. "We finally found you." There was no response from him.

"Hey!" said Prince Jeri, shaking the Ringleader. "We've come to speak to y...." He stopped when he saw Gangrel's eyes...they looked...empty.

"Um, Molly." said the prince. "We should go...slowly...because something's wrong with this man..."

"There's nothing wrong with me." Gangrel said softly. "I'm just wondering about something..." He looked straight at them, but Molly and Prince Jeri gasped more in surprise, the wing markings they saw before were already climbing around his neck. "Wondering about..." His voice rose in anger. "Why mommy and daddy abandoned me!"

At that instant Gangrel's whole appearance change until Dusk took his place. He smiled evilly at Molly and Prince Jeri who backed away from the young child. Dusk grinned as he brought out an orb of black energy.

"DIE!" He said as he hurled it at them. Molly and Prince Jeri screamed and closed their eyes...

Only to wake up back to where they were with Gangrel looking at them weirdly.

"Um," he said. "Are you two alright?"

Molly and Prince Jeri shot nervous glances at each other, then trailed their eyes at Gangrel's neck. There were no traces of the tattoo around his neck, nor was there any of Dusk at all. Was it all a dream? An illusion?

"We're fine." said Prince Jeri. "We were told by Adam to meet up with you. You were supposed to give us a tour of the Circus."

"Ah yes." said Gangrel, stirring the food filled pot. "The stew will be done by the time the tour will be done." He placed the lid on top of the pot, deafening the bubbling sounds of the delicious meal. Now let's go."

Prince Jeri and Molly nodded their heads and followed him.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 **

"Good girl." said Adam, petting Terrah on the head. She smiled, and let out a soft purr at the touch. Stryker mewed and received a small pat on the head."Now, let's get the next routine up and running!"

Adam brought out his black star wand out and started to wave it around in the air. Black stars started to appear, falling down like a shower. He twirled around, and more black stars appeared.

"So Terrah," Adam continued. "I'm going to shower black stars over the area, and then we're going to make a small pool of water in the arena. Terrah, you and Ven will have some clay pots in your mouth filled with water. When I give the signal, Terrah will pour her pot of water into the pool and Ven will bring hers and pour it onto the ground. That'll complete half of the performance....then, you're both going to crouch down as Stryker grabs the wand and starts bringing in more stars around the area. Finally, Terrah and Ven will both splash in the water, and we'll bring out a finale of light to make the water droplets look similar to stars. Do you understand?"

He then felt the sound of clapping hands. Adam turned around and saw Gangrel, Prince Jeri and Molly staring at him. Stryker mewed as she got on Adam's shoulder.

"So, you're going to do Major Arcana XVII-The Star." said Gangrel. "But you do know, that the image on the card is a naked woman, right?"

"Of course I do!" said Adam. "So I'm going to wear girl's clothing for the performance, but I won't be naked. After all, we've got young kids in the audience watching our acts and I don't think the adults will be throwing Beats and Melodi at us if I'm out there without any clothes on."

"Well, you do look like a girl anyway." said Prince Jeri. For that Adam immediately tackled him onto the ground.

"I do not look like a girl!" He cried out, as the two rolled around in the grass. "So don't call me one!"

"Then why do you have long hair?" said Prince Jeri, pulling a strand of Adam's long, golden tresses.

Adam blushed as he muttered. "I hate haircuts."

Molly giggled a bit, covering a hand with a cat paw. "Oh, is that all?" She asked. "But don't worry, Prince Jeri has a fear of anything pink."

"Don't say that!" Prince Jeri cried out. "Pink is the color of evil!"

"Then we better make sure he isn't near Mickie's clothes then." Gangrel muttered.

"Oh by the way," said Adam, pointing to his left. "If you need to see everyone else, they're over there working on getting everything prepared for our trip to Modera, or are just working on their routines."

"Thanks for the information," said Molly. She then saw Prince Jeri staring intently at the Sphinxes. "Um Prince Jeri, are you sure that's a good idea?"

"They're so cute!" said Prince Jeri, bringing his paw out. "It's nice to meet you."

Terrah saw this and sniffed the child's hand a bit; then she suddenly put it in her mouth.

"Terrah!" Gangrel cried out, rushing over to Prince Jeri's side and pulling him away. "Bad girl! You don't eat the newcomer's hand!"

Molly ran to Prince Jeri, also trying to pull him away. "Please, your Majesty." She said. "Get away from her, you can't lose a paw!"

After much effort the two were able to stop Terrah from chewing on Prince Jeri's paw. The poor hand was covered in Sphinx saliva.

"Ewww..." said Prince Jeri. "Why'd she do that?"

"It was because your hand was a treat to her." said Adam. "Terrah liked the scent that came from the Prince's hand and wanted to eat it." Terrah meowed sadly, bowing her head. "That's okay," Adam continued, patting her head once more. "You're forgiven."

"Now, that that's done. We can continue." Gangrel said, hearing the sounds of the determined Circus getting prepared for their trip.

**0 0 0 0 0 0**

After going through a couple of the remaining acts—Jay's juggling routine, John's aerial silk act, Ashley's trapeze performance, Mickie's contortionist act, Paul and Brian's jester routine, and Shannon's snake charmer performance—they immediately found Maria with her Rain Bow Staff. She waved it around, and a wave of paint circled around her. She closed her eyes as the paint transformed into a sheet of rainbow ice. Then she opened them, and small rainbow colored birds burst free from the ice and circled around her. The three even noticed her attire: Maria was now wearing a red corset, an orange/yellow glove on her right hand, and a green-blue skirt. She also had purple boots.

"If she can't catch a rainbow, she would rather dress like a rainbow." Gangrel muttered. Maria turned around and gasped, which caused all of her new creations to melt into the regular rainbow paint that they originated from.

"I didn't see you coming at all." she said, her face turning red with embarrassment. "I guess you're going to say my get-up is ridiculous, right?"

"It isn't." Gangrel said, admiring the creativity in the whole set-up. "And I'm guessing you wanted to tell me something."

Maria nodded her head as she gripped her staff tightly. "Y-yeah." she replied. "I wanted to show the world my creative and artistic side. And rainbows...even though they're made of white light, share the happiness and hope for better things. When the rain clears down, a rainbow is the beacon of light for everyone to see that the sun is now shining once more. And since I heard that Adam is doing an act with water...could you...that is to say...let me go after him?"

"It is dangerous," Gangrel murmured under his breath, rubbing his chin in thought. "IT requires great focus, determination, creativity...Aw, what the heck. Why not?"

"YAY!" Maria cried, hugging Gangrel. "Thank you so much!"

Suddenly Matt and Jeff ran over to the four. "Um, Gangrel." Matt started. "Did you leave anything on the fire?"

"Just a pot of stew." said Prince Jeri. "Why do you ask?"

"Because if you don't come in the next 5 minutes, then it's all gone!" said Jeff. "Hurry before there's..."

In that instant, there was no one left except the Hardy Brothers. Jeff's stomach started to growl.

"Let's go before _**we**_ don't get breakfast!" said Matt, laughing a bit.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Prince Jeri and Molly sat amongst the hay bales in the wooden cart. They smiled at themselves as they started to fall asleep, their bodies rocking due to the movement of the cart going through the bumpy road.

"This is the life, isn't it?" said Adam. "Traveling to different places, entertaining for hundreds of people."

"Never having to be fending for ourselves ever again." Jay added. "I could get used to this."

Ashley pointed at something ahead of her. "Look!" she cried out. "It's...Modera..."

Immediately entering Twili, the Circus found many new things that made Noir pale in comparison. Everything was shimmering, as if the sun had blessed it with its eternal gift of a sunrise. The architecture had a look of marble, statues adorned them and the ionic columns made it look royal. What was also interesting was that Twili had the highest elf population...a fact that the Circus figured out from many of the people having pointed ears and long white robes going down to their feet.

"It's beautiful." said Mickie. "And we're in it's capital!"

Some of the children started to run toward Gangrel's wooden cart as they neared the Town Square. Then other people started to crowd around, intrigued by what is going on. Amazed faces on the young girls and boys started to multiply as the Circus stopped at the center of town.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" Gangrel announced. "Tonight, we will bring in some brand new acts never before seen anywhere else! The show will be tonight at 8 PM sharp. Admission is a mere melodi, and there will be fun for the whole family!"

"Don't be late!" said Paul.

"There's going to be popcorn and cotton candy!" said Brian.

"The kids will have a chance to meet with some of the animals before curtains open!" Ashley added.

"It's a great show!" Maria finished.

Everyone in the crowd started to talk amongst themselves, some trying to imagine what was in store for them that evening. Everyone immediately left, leaving for their houses, their stalls, wherever they were heading for...until only three people were left.

"Well, well." The one in the middle said with a sneer. "Look what we have here...Paulie, Bria, Ashes and Mar."

Maria snarled at the three. "Mercury, Nitro and Melina...MNM...what do you want?" She said to them.

Mercury smirked. "We just wanted to wish you luck." He mocked. "You're going to need it when you fall flat on your face on a pile of horse shit!" MNM laughed at the idea.

Maria gripped on her Rain Bow Staff, trying her hardest not to make it some giant sword to slice their heads off. Paul was also trying his hardest not to make arms grow from the ground and pants MNM in front of everyone (not like he tried to do that years ago).

"Thanks for your support." Maria said in her cheerful grin. "So, how have you been doing since we last saw you 5 years ago?"

"Ruling the old orphanage, as usual." said Nitro. "The younger kids wait on us hand and food, and none of us have to lift a finger. And the old coots don't even notice what we're doing."

"The same as always huh?" said Ashley, trying to deliver her best fake grin ever. "Some things never change."

"Exactly." said Melina. "You four are still the same pathetic losers from the orphanage."

"Wait, a minute." said John. "How old are you?"

"18." Mercury said.

"And you're using kids for all your dirty deeds?" John asked. "I mean, what, you're paying money for them to give you dances or at least entertain you..."

"NOT LIKE THAT!" Nitro yelled, interrupting John. "How dare you have the audacity to say that to us!"

"Just checking." John said, rolling his eyes. "Now if you excuse us, we've got a wooden cart, three gryphons, some dragons, a panther, two sphinxes and a whole menagerie of animals that will kill and trample over you if you don't move.

"All right, all right." said Melina, as the three moved out of the way. Gangrel immediately clicked his teeth and the horse drawn cart started to move away, the parade of other animals soon followed him until no one was in sight.

"Hmph." said Nitro. "We're better without them."

"Or so you say." said a voice. MNM tried to find out where it was, but they couldn't find the source. "Tell me, why do you hate them so much? And don't leave out any detail...I want to know everything about them. But not here...follow the sound of my voice into the alleyways, and we'll get to know each other...a little bit better."

MNM exchanged worried glances; they knew from the orphanage that it was never a good idea to go into an abandoned house with some disembodied voice telling you to do so (not like they ever experienced it, but it was still a good thing to know). But something was pulling their bodies closer and closer to the house...something they were unable to describe.

On one of the rooftops, a lone figure twitched his fingers, pulling on invisible strings as he saw MNM come closer and closer to an abandoned house, ready for the plan to be in action. A blue mage's hooded cloak covered his body and a small strand of blonde hair was in front of his face. Pulling a small scroll out, he smirked at the two drawings in front of them. He then chanted a spell as the images on the scroll started to change.

"This is going to get good..." He whispered to himself.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 **

"This is awesome!" said Jay, seeing all of the stores in Modera. "I can't wait to get some new clothes!"

"Wait for me, Jay!" said Adam, him and Stryker chasing after him. The Circus was given time to go shopping and explore the capital of Twili before meeting up with Gangrel to set up and prepare for the big performance tonight. It was a great way to just relax after having to fight three villains, and surviving a battle with Dusk.

John was staring at a display window that had a beautiful cape on one of the mannequins. It was a beautiful green color, with golden embroidery and it had the images of two wolves looking at each other above a silver moon. There was a border of silver wolves and images of the moon in different phases...

But it was also expensive...about 30 clefas for that piece of cloth.

"It's beautiful," He whispered, pressing his fingers amongst the glass. "I want it so badly. Can you buy it for me, Randy?"

Randy sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Why would you want this cape?" He exclaimed. "You have other ones back in your trunk.

"But none are pretty as this one," John whined. "Please?" He turned to Randy, giving him a pair of puppy eyes. "For me?"

Randy tried to say something, but he saw how sad and cute John looked. He looked like a wet puppy that had been kicked and abused. The young necromancer tried to close his eyes, but that sad puppy face was clear as day in his mind.

"All right, all right!" he said. "I'll give you 15 clefas to pay for it. But you owe me a favor, deal?"

"Thank you so much!" John said, squeezing Randy to pieces. "I love you, man! I really do!"

Ashley, Maria and Mickie were at a jewelry shop, looking for new accessories. They were marveled at the craftsmanship of all the intricate shapes of metal that were there.

"I want that one!" Ashley said, pointing to a pair of yellow star earrings. Mickie cried the same thing to a pair of silver spiral earrings.

"But guys," said Maria. "You already have enough earrings. Why do you want those two?"

"Because," said Ashley. "We want to try out your Fusion Alchemy to make our Silver Bell Staffs gain new powers. What do you think?"

Maria beamed at them. "That's a good idea!"

Mickie started to bounce up and down. "Yay!" she cried. "I can't to try out my new weapon!"

Matt and Jeff were at a small candy store known as _Sugar Cloud_ that had a young girl wearing a giant hat and glasses as the shopkeeper (she stated her parents were busy at home). She gave them a big smile as the Hardy Brothers entered.

"Welcome to my little shop!" said the girl. "It's 10 beats for the first quarter-pound of candy, and an extra 5 for every extra quarter-pound that's added. I highly recommend the Rainbow Cloud Fluffs, the Snapdragon Blossoms, and the Mallow Sheep!"

"Can we at least sample one of each before we make our purchases?" said Matt, trying his hardest to restrain his brother from the sugary sweets.

"Sure!" said the girl, bringing out two pieces of each candy. There were ones that looked like rainbow colored cotton candy fluffs, red flowers made of sugar, and a cute little sheep made out of marshmallow cream and even had a chocolate face and four legs.

"LET ME AT THEM!" Jeff cried, diving into the Snapdragon Blossoms. He bit one, but then started to sweat a bit. In an instant, he accidentally blew a small stream of fire, melting the poor candy on the display table into puddles of sugar. "Oops..." he said.

"I forgot to mention," said the shop keeper. "The Snapdragon Blossoms are created with Red Cinnamon Clusters...eating a whole one causes people to get a warm feeling in their mouths, but I've never seen someone breathe fire before."

"Yeah," said Matt. "It's amazing what the human body can do." He then stared at the candy puddles. "Sorry about the candy."

The girl giggled a bit. "That's okay! I'll just prepare you two bags of those sweets. And for showing me an awesome display of fire, I'll even give you a free Fairy float, Root beer flavored!"

"HOORAY!" Jeff cheered, hugging the girl. "I LOVE YOU!"

Matt rolled his eyes and shook his head, afraid of the sugar high Jeff he was going to have to face later on.

Shannon had accompanied Prince Jeri and Molly at a small pet store. Inside there were many birds chirping away, a couple of puppies yapping away, some kittens mewing for milk and...

"I WANT THAT ONE!" Prince Jeri cried, seeing the small sphinx cub staring at him. It had golden fur, blue eyes and a small collar with a golden name tag on it. "It's so adorable! Can I have it, Molly? Please?"

Shannon rolled his eyes as he had his pet snake, Dynamo slithered around his neck. It stared at everything around it, flicking his tongue out every now and then. "There, there." He said, petting his partner's head. "I'll get you a nice mouse or two. You're getting pretty hungry, right?"

He then noticed two small white mice, eating a couple of seeds in a cage. Shannon grinned as he stared at the two.

"Then again," He muttered. "I am hungry for something furry..."

"So please, can I have it?" Prince Jeri begged. "Please? I'll take care of it. I promise!"

Molly smiled, patting him on the head. "All right," she said, bringing out a money pouch. "After this, we're buying some hats for the two of us. If we go out in public exposed, we'll be fussed over more than the children back at the tribe."

Prince Jeri ignored what she was saying as she handed the pet owner the money for the sphinx cub. He then picked it up and started to cradle it in his arms.

"What do I call her?" he said as the little kitten mewed.

"It's a guy, actually." said the pet owner. "Sphinxes are mostly female, but this little guy is male."

"Aww, he's adorable." said Molly, rubbing the Sphinx cub's belly.

Suddenly a large shriek came from the mice cage. Prince Jeri and Molly gasped as they saw Shannon swallow a poor little mouse whole. With a gulp, the poor mouse fell into Moore's stomach.

Shannon stared at the two, showing them the other mouse. "Want one?" He asked.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

In another part of town, Paul and Brian were visiting the old orphanage. They were currently chatting away with the caretaker, Jim Ross.

"Bless my soul!" Ross said, seeing Paul and Brian all grown up. "It's been 5 years. How have you been doing, you two?"

"Awesome!" said Brian. "Ashley and Maria are great also! The Dream Circus has been attracting people far and wide. And we've grown from 5 to 15!"

"You tripled the amount of people in just that amount of time?" A smile was on the man's face. "That's amazing." He then let out a sigh, as he took a sip from his cup of tea.

"What's wrong?" Paul asked him.

"It's those three." Ross explained. "Ever since you guys left, they've been different. Sad, depressed, maybe a bit jealous actually."

"Sad? Depressed? Jealous?" Brian repeated. "You have got to be kidding me."

Ross shook his head. "I knew you'd say that." He replied. "MNM aren't that bad...they've had worse childhoods than you've had. Melina's father was an alcoholic and would constantly abuse her, and her mom had no choice but to put her in the orphanage so she'd could have a chance for another life. Nitro had two other sisters who were constantly spoiled and he was the 'black sheep' in his family. Last but not least, Mercury's parents had drug problems and he was nearly sent into child prostitution just to help support the family—who wanted to act more like kids, rather than take care of them."

"So because of their pasts, they act so arrogant...because they don't want people to pity them for all their past troubles." Paul summarized. "The four of us had a chance for a better life, but seeing the orphanage...MNM are the only ones who never found someone who would say to them 'I love you'."

"It's really sad." Ross added. "They keep waiting the children hand in foot, as a way to show that they have some control in the orphanage. But what really tears them apart is that those little children get to leave for new lives...but they continue to grow old, and still rot away in this prison." He let out another sigh. "I've tried all that I can, but there's nothing that can lift their spirits. And because of their reputation, no one in Modera or even Twili itself will accept them."

"Damn it," said Brian. "If we knew that sooner, than Gangrel might've taken them in also and helped create an even bigger Circus than what we have!"

"And here's the worse part." Ross said, bringing out a calendar. "It's August 11th; the same day when you left the orphanage and headed off on your journey."

"What?!" Brian and Paul cried out simultaneously. "It's today?!"

Ross nodded his head. "Hard to believe, isn't it?"

"Damn it!" Brian cried out. "We have to go and tell Gangrel that, and we have that show to prepare for. We're so sorry we have to leave, but we have to go now!"

"Come visit the show tonight!" Paul said as the two left the orphanage. Jim Ross smiled at them and gave them a wave good-bye until they could no longer be seen.

The two ran past the alleyway, running past some of the children playing, and the woman doing laundry.

"We're almost there!" said Brian. "We're going to make—huh?"

The two stopped as they saw two harlequins, one dressed in black and the other dressed in white. Both of them had big grins on their faces as their eyes were covered by their elaborate masks.

"Um, hi?" said Paul. "We'd love to chat but we've got to go and meet up with the other..." He stopped there as the two harlequins inched closer and closer to them. They removed their masks, showing their strange colored eyes, piercing into their souls.

"W-what's with that look?" Brian said as the black harlequin grabbed his arms. Brian stared into those strange eyes, slowly losing consciousness.

"Hush," the harlequin said, in a voice similar to Kendrick's. "Rest, and let the puppeteer take over. You will be nothing more than a simple marionette for him to control...resign to your fate."

"Yes," the white harlequin followed, that eerie smile on his face. "Continue to rest, and let the strings control everything from now on..."

Both jesters nodded as they grabbed onto the strange characters and soon jumped onto the rooftops, their feet interacting with the shingles. Little did they know that there were three pairs of eyes watching them.

"That is not good." said one of the three people staring at the scene.

"This is so going to be our fault." The second one said. "What do we do? What do we do?!"

"Calm down!" The third one snapped. "We have to find them and explain what's going on!"

"Will they believe us?" The first one said.

"I don't know," the third person said. "But, they'll have to if they want their friends back."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

"Ooh, he's so cute!" Ashley cooed, seeing Prince Jeri's new friend. The little sphinx cub meowed as Ashley started to rub its belly. "I love it so much! What are you going to call him?"

"I'll call him Lestat de Lionheart!" said Prince Jeri, placing a small rat in front of the little kitten. It immediately pounced on it and grabbed the scruff of its neck by its teeth.

Gangrel, who was near them when it was going on, suddenly started grasping his head in pain, closing his eyes shut as something was growing inside of him. Something familiar....

_And what do we call you?_A voice from his memory said. He couldn't recall who it was to, but it sounded just like him...or it was him. But why couldn't he remember?

_I don't...have a name. _This other voice said, young and shy. _Perhaps, you can give me one?_

_I'll call you Lestat...he was from a book I read once. Do you want that name?_

A nod. _There you go, from now on you will be Lestat._

_And what's your name? _The young child asked him.

_My name is..._

"HEY!" Ashley's voice screamed out, breaking Gangrel out of his trance. "What the heck are you guys doing here?"

Said guys in question, MNM were panting for breath as they entered the Circus tent.

"We're here to warn you," said Melina. "Some weird masked people kidnapped Brian and Paul!"

"What?!" Molly gasped. "How dare they!"

"Yeah!" Ashley added. "How dare you act so nice to us and call Paul and Brian by their real names! What's next? You're going to say that you're the reason that they got kidnapped?"

"Um," said Mercury, twiddling his thumbs. "That also might be why they're kidnapped..."

Ashley sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Let me get the others." She muttered. "Molly, you and Prince Jeri entertain our former 'friends' and I'll get the others."

"Cool!" said Prince Jeri, bringing Lestat to MNM. "They can see my new friend!" the little sphinx cub mewed, its tiny wings twitching in delight.

Melina closed her eyes, her face turning away from the blue eyes of the little animal. Unfortunately, she couldn't stop her hand from petting the head of the kitten.

"It's so adorable!" she said, while Prince Jeri smiled triumphantly. All the while Gangrel chuckled to himself, setting up some of the risers for the audience to sit upon.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Matt and Jeff were outside the tent, playing with their dragons Jack and Lucas. Jeff brought out a bag of popcorn and poured it onto the iron kettle.

"All right," he said, petting Jack's head. "Fire away!" The dragon smiled and let out a small flame came out of his mouth, and the small kernels started to dance up in the air as the sound of popping could be heard.

Matt was already working his hardest to control Lucas from eating the cotton candy he was making. The machine started to whir as he placed the pink sugar into the bowl, and brought out a paper cone to bring in the candy floss together into its fluffy pink form. Suddenly Ashley came running towards them.

"Stop what you're doing, and follow me." she said, panting. "Paul and Brian are in trouble! Someone's kidnapped them!"

"What?" Matt cried out. "We have to save them!"

"Yeah!" Jeff added.

"That would be a good idea," said Ashley, rolling her eyes. "But the Circus opens its doors in about three hours, so only a couple of can stay for the acts. And a couple people have to sell the refreshments."

"Right." said Jeff. "You go and save Paul and Brian, we'll sell refreshments."

"You sure you guys will be alright?" Ashley asked them, seeing the bags of popcorn and cotton candy yet to be prepared. "You've got lots of stuff to do."

"Don't worry!" said Matt. "A shopkeeper from this candy shop is going to stop by and help us out. We'll be fine, just go!"

"Right." said Ashley. "Say, where's Maria?"

"Over here!" Ashley turned around seeing something thrown at her. She immediately caught it and gasped in surprise; it was her old Bell Staff, but it was now blue with many stars decorating it, and on the top of the staff was a yellow five-pointed star. The bells had small stars painted on them also.

Maria and Mickie rushed over to Ashley. "I've done it!" Maria cried. "I used my Fusion Alchemy to make a new staff for you! Say hello to your Twinkle Star staff!"

"And my brand new Blustery Day staff!" said Mickie, bringing out her new staff. This one still had its silver coloring and a small tornado was on the top of the staff, but it also twisted into a spiral like shape at the bottom, making it easier for Mickie to grab it with her hand.

"Everyone else is gone and working hard for the performance." Maria added. "MNM stated that the person who kidnapped Paul and Brian was able to throw his voice from a very far distance. We need to find him before things get bad."

"You got a plan for that Maria?" said Ashley, twirling her new staff.

"Um," said Maria, blushing. "I don't...sorry." She received a pat on the head from Mickie.

"Don't worry," She said. "We can't all be like Adam and Jay; we just have to have the belief that things will be okay." She stared at the sun setting down in the horizon. "We've got to go...now."

The other girls nodded as they left toward the sunset.

It was at that time where the young shopkeeper from the candy store came in, carrying bags full of delicious sweets.

"What just happened here?" she said.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

The puppeteer smiled at himself, staring at a shimmering purple mirror floating above him. "I have them, my lord." He whispered inside the empty.

"Excellent," said the person on the other side. "You have outdone yourself; at least you'll be able to pick up where Vickie unfortunately screwed up."

"She was such an ass, anyway. Not worthy on serving you, Lord David." The puppeteer replied.

Lord David laughed a bit. "Please, flattery is not required in your job. Now, that we have the first two, it'll only be a matter of time until we get the other four."

"I understand about the black one, but why the white one?" The puppeteer questioned.

"The black one has been given the Leonard's blessing." Lord David explained. "And through my observances, the white and black ones both have a deep relationship, just like the Guardians of Shadow and Light have. Perhaps, the white one is the Vessel to the Guardian of Light."

"Hmmm....maybe." said the puppeteer. "I will get the next two tonight."

"Not if we have something to say about it!" The puppeteer turned around, to get collided with a shower of stars. He soon started to see stars as Ashley, Maria and Mickie came running toward him, brandishing out all three of their staffs.

"Give us Brian and Paul!" Maria cried out, her Rain Bow Staff transforming into a beautiful multicolored sword. "If you don't, you'll die in the hands of the divas of the Dream Circus!"

The puppeteer smirked, the purple mirror in front of him disintegrating into small particles. "You think you can defeat me?" He said. He raised his hands, his fingers moving in a strange motion as two figures soon came walking up to them.

"NO!" Ashley cried out, seeing the blank looks of Paul and Brian staring in front of them...they were still wearing their usual 'hooligan' gear—consisting of black/white vest and pants with a harlequin face on the back of the vest and their initials on the left pant leg—but their eyes weren't showing their usual happiness.

"You fiend!" Mickie cried. "You're going to die!"

"Take this!" said Maria, charging up to the puppeteer; unfortunately, Paul smirked as hands from beneath Maria's feet grabbed onto the legs, making her unable to move.

"Oh crap." said Ashley as she saw Brian swoop into the air and into a nose dive. Mickie immediately waved her staff, letting a gust of wind blow him away.

"You see," the puppeteer smirked. "You're not going to make me cut the strings off of my puppets so easily; I'm going to make sure you walk away in shame from the loss you were taken by your former friends."

Maria screamed in pain as the hands gripping against her legs started to tighten their grip. Focusing as hard as she could, she made her staff transform into what looked like...a water pistol.

"A water pistol?" The puppeteer started to laugh, at how ridiculous it looked—which it was, since it was multicolored and looked very small. "That is so--"

He couldn't say anything else as she fired a shot from the pistol at the hand, but instead of water, it was a rainbow-colored laser.

"Never mind." He said as Maria immediately shot at all the other hands, while Paul grunted in pain.

"How the heck did you do that, Maria?" Mickie asked while Maria shrugged.

"It was actually simple, really." she said, firing a couple more shots at Paul. "When it comes to limb replication, any damage those limbs get, it goes back to the guy who created them. So, by firing shots at the hands, Paul had to release the grip he had on me if he wanted to survive."

"Where the hell did you learn something like that?" Ashley asked her.

Maria shrugged her shoulders. "Not sure actually, I just know..." She couldn't finish as Paul tackled her to the ground, more arms pinning her hands and feet together.

"Hey!" said Ashley, charging up to to Brian. "Come back here!" Brian smirked as he floated into the air, his black wings fluttered around the ceiling. Unfortunately, even with Ashley's athletic ability, her star wand could only touch the tip of Brian's boot.

Paul smirked seeing Maria helpless with her poor water pistol. He then started walking toward Mickie, growing another pair of arms and an evil smirk was on his face.

"Stay back, I tell you!" said Mickie, bringing out a gust of wind from her staff. It didn't phase the Latino as he pinned Mickie into the wall with one pair of arms and grabbed her staff with another.

"Come on, come on!" Maria said, gripping her Rain Bow Staff. It magically transformed into a sword, and she sliced the limbless hands off of her...while Paul's arms started to bleed from what Maria did to them. Releasing his grip on Mickie he charged up to the rainbow dressed performer.

"Um, guys." said Ashley, trying to attack Brian. "What do we do about these guys?"

"If I remember correctly," Maria said, intercepting all of Paul's blows. "Either a memory, something they hear, a specific word, or even a smell can break them out of their trance." She gave a punch directly into Paul's jaw. "But the guy who did this spell must've done a doozy of it..."

Ashley leaped to bring Brian's feet down, but fell flat on her face as Brian grabbed her long hair and grinned at her.

"Get your hands off my hair, NOW!" Ashley screamed, placing a hand in front of Brian's face. Her hand started to show a small, purple iris design. "I mean it, Brian! I'll give you to three. One...two..."

"AHHH!" Brian screamed, pushing Ashley off of him, and holding his face. "What the fuck was that for?!"

"Huh?" Ashley said, seeing her hand print on Brian's face. She then sniffed the air. "Who the heck sprayed perfume here?"

"What the--?" The puppeteer gasped out seeing Ashley's hand. "She's a--"

"That's it!" said Maria. "The perfume smell! Ashley...can you try to make more of it?"

"Um, Maria." said Mickie, bringing out a handkerchief to cover her mouth. "That's not perfume...that's poison!" Mickie then saw Ashley's appearance...her black skirt and corset was now a beautiful black dress with golden flowers decorating it. The sleeves of the dress had white ruffles on it and she looked very radiant.

Ashley looked down at her attire. "Wow...where the heck did I get this?" She whispered. Something came into her mind as the puppeteer charged toward her, dagger in hand. She screamed as she ducked just in time, and grabbed the hand grabbing the dagger.

"Get away from me!" The man cried, withdrawing his hand from hers. It now had scorch marks from where the young girl had touched it.

Maria closed her eyes, grabbing onto the staff until it transformed into a perfume bottle. "Catch!" she said, tossing it to Ashley. "Fill it up with your perfume, er, poison!"

"Um," Ashley said, breathing into the bottle, the poison settling in into a liquid form.

Mickie immediately ran toward Paul, and got onto his back, spinning him around to face Ashley, who spritz the venomous liquid in front of his face. It hung into the air a bit as Paul's eyes started to regain its true color.

"Ugh," he said, covering his mouth. "What the heck is that perfume? And why are you wearing that costume, Ash?"

Ashley shrugged her shoulders. "Not sure." She handed back the perfume bottle to Maria, where it soon transformed back to its original form, and the liquid became vapor in the air. "But we better get out of here before any of us get sick."

Brian opened his eyes as he saw Ashley's dress. "Wow..." he gasped out.

"This is not over!" The puppeteer snarled, as the five circus members turned to him. "I'm not going to let some circus freaks defeat me!"

"My, my." said Mickie, fanning herself. "It's sure getting hot in here. Let's cool it down!" She swung her staff at the man, letting a huge gust of wind form knocking him into the wall and into unconsciousness.

"What do we do with him?" said Paul.

"Nothing." said Maria. "As long we got what we came for, then we're safe. Seriously, what are the chances that we find them on the first house we passed near the orphanage?"

"Very slim, Maria." said Ashley. She then turned to Brian, letting out a small gasp. "Oh dear..."

Brian's face had burn marks from where Ashley placed her hand on his face, making it look like he had a horrible disease. "What?" he asked.

Mickie brought out a mirror from her pocket and showed it to Brian. The first thing Brian did when he saw his reflection was scream.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 **

"ARE YOU NUTS?!" Brian cried, as Molly placed some cream around his eyes. "These things won't be removed until tomorrow?"

"They aren't deadly," Molly said, removing the cream from her paw. "We're lucky that it was a small bit poison. It appears Ashley has a strange ability."

"More than that actually." Paul, Brian, Ashley, Maria and Molly turned to see Jim Ross entering with a couple of papers in tow. "I've been waiting to tell you this when you return..."

He showed out a couple of birth certificates to the Circus. "This was given when Ashley came to my doorstep 10 years ago; it said that she was known as Beatrice, but to make sure her mad man of a father didn't kidnap her, that her name was to be called Ashley."

"Beatrice?" said Ashley, quirking an eyebrow. "What kind of snobby name is that?"

"Beatrice was supposed to be a daughter of a famous doctor," Jim Ross explained. "But he was crazy...he fed her poisons to make sure she would not be dominated by the guys who tried to go out with her. What was worse was that if she touched someone, the poison would seep into the person's blood stream, and their breath would be like poison also. However, Ashley's family was kind enough to inform me that her poison is only deadly to bring out temporary scars, but not spread poison to another person."

"Thank goodness," Brian sighed. "But how long do they last?"

"You'll be fine in a day or two." Ross replied as Brian sighed in relief. "Now for Maria, ah yes. Her parents were killed while she was about 7; her parents were Scholars, and according to the note that was left with her, she had a big mind and could memorize anything she read. Unfortunately—to add salt to a wound—she sometimes forgets information or stuff surrounding her."

"That's okay," said Maria. "Stuff'll just come to me later on."

"Finally, there's Paul and Brian. They were just left on my doorstep with notes saying to take care of them. No names of the parents, no addresses, nothing...sorry."

"That's okay." said Paul. "We've got lots of stuff to prepare for...like what we're going to do for tonight's performance."

"And how the hell I got this dress." said Ashley, staring at her new attire.

"They form when your powers activate, or at least that's what the papers say." said Ross, looking at the notes. "It's like an 'armor' in which you can call upon whenever you want to summon your powers, or something like that..."

"Okay..." Ashley said, as the dress started to be replaced by her original outfit. Suddenly the sound of a gong boomed through the area. "Uh-oh..."

"Opening curtain." Brian said, pulling his hair. "And we don't have anything to perform!"

Paul stared at Brian at a minute then smiled. "I have an idea...."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Intermission time. Maria's new rainbow act, plus Prince Jeri's and Molly's knife throwing act was a success to the crowd. The popcorn and sweets were also doing well also. Some of the younger children were petting the animals, and were already cuddling the newest pet, Lestat the Sphinx cub.

"Get your free candy here!" Jeff cried, swallowing a Snapdragon blossom. He instantly blew out a puff of smoke from his mouth. "They're delicious! Try the Snapdragon Blossoms, they're HOT!" The teenage girls in the village were immediately rushing toward Jeff, none of them unable to resist his irresistible charm and love of things sweet.

Backstage, Ashley was already in her 'Beatrice' costume of the black dress with golden flowers. Her hair was also put up in a bun with a red flower hairpin keeping it together. Putting some white powder on her face, she smiled and picked up the delicate black mask. She placed it in front of her eyes as she spun around to Mickie and Maria.

"How do I look?" Both Maria and Mickie gave her a thumbs-up. "Awesome!"

Paul rushed in, wearing a white prince's outfit with a silver crown. "Hurry it up, princess." He said. "Show's about to start!"

"Coming!" said Ashley, rushing to the outside. "How's Brian doing?"

Paul smirked. "You'll see."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

The lights dimmed down as the audience saw Ashley walk into the center of the arena. A purple flower was in her hand as she smelled it. She sighed as Paul walked in from the left and grabbed her hand, kissing it. A white mask covered his eyes as he stared into Ashley's eyes.

"Wow," Adam whispered, seeing the act backstage. "Who would've thought those three could come up with something in about 10 minutes."

"They aren't the veterans of the Dream Circus for nothing." Jay added.

Brian soon came in, wearing a black cape and silk pants, a black mask covering his face. He immediately grabbed Ashley's other hand, and pulled on it. Paul seeing this, pulled onto Ashley's hand, until both London and Kendrick were soon in a tug-of-war with each other.

"Enough!" Ashley cried, whipping her hands away from the boys. Unfortunately by doing so, she knocked off Brian's mask. The audience gasped as they saw Brian's face, scarred and burnt. Brian stared at Ashley and Paul, running off with his hand covering his face. Ashley and Paul soon followed him backstage...soon coming back from the left, with Paul trapping Brian with two pairs of hands grabbing onto his legs. Brian fell and started to shiver a bit as the shadows of his two friends started to cover his body.

"Don't worry," Ashley whispered, placing a gloved hand onto Brian's face. "I won't hurt you, are you all right?"

Brian whimpered as he turned away, still covering his face. Members of the audience started to cry when they saw Brian's pitied state. Paul and Ashley smiled to themselves at the expressions of the people watching them; their plan was working. Ashley then turned Brian's face and made it face hers, she smiled sadly as she helped him stand up.

"Do you want to stay with me in my palace?" She whispered. Brian nodded and cried on Ashley's shoulder. As the lights turned off, the audience stood up, applauding the beautiful scene, and the sound of coins falling onto the dusty floor filled the three performers' ears.

"Best. Idea. Ever!" The three whispered to themselves.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 **

It was around 11 PM when the Dream Circus started to clear up the empty risers. MNM decided to help—because, after all, it was their fault that Brian and Paul got kidnapped in the first place.

"Seriously," said Paul. "You don't have to do this."

"We want to." said Nitro. "We clean up bigger messes back at the orphanage."

"But what are you going to do now?" said Brian. "You could join the Circus if you want."

Mercury shook his head. "Nah. The three of us are going to stay and take care of the orphanage; we've been there for so long, that we know how to take care of every type of problem that's in store for us."

"You sure you won't regret this?" said Ashley, placing the costumes away in a trunk. "I mean, you could have a chance to explore the world with us."

"Seriously." said Melina. "Your place is to travel and entertain people. It's our place to stay in Modera and take care of the young, lost souls that want and need a home."

"That's so sweet!" said Maria, who went and hugged Melina. "I'm going to miss you guys!"

"Y-yeah," said Melina. "We'll miss you too."

"Don't forget to send us a message once in a while." said Nitro. "We'd love to get a letter from you guys since we haven't received one from you for about...five years."

"We will," said Brian. "And sorry about what happened to you before...with your families and that..."

"Aw, let them all go to hell." said Mercury. "We had a better family here than anywhere else. So...sorry about all of that shit we gave you all those years ago."

"Forgiven." said Paul. "Anyway, we've got bigger problems on our hands."

"Like what?" Nitro asked them.

Maria sat down on a crate. "It's about Darkness, and the 6 Guardians of Gaea..." She began.

After telling the tale, MNM gasped at what had been happening to them so far. They never knew that that type of stuff was going on.

"Damn it," Melina whispered. "I never knew that was going on; maybe that guy who brainwashed Paul and Brian might've been working for Darkness."

"Could explain that purple mirror thing we saw as we went after him," said Ashley. "Still...that only means one thing."

"And what's that?" said Paul and Brian.

Ashley closed her eyes. "That things are getting a lot tougher."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 **

_Who was the strange puppeteer that fought off the girls of the Dream Circus?_

_Who is this Lestat that is in Gangrel's memories?_

_What is in store for our heroes?_

_And will they be able to fight back?_

_All this and more in the next chapter!_

_So read and review!_


	12. Horologium, The Pendulum Clock

_All right! Let's get to chapter 12 and to the continuation of Masquerade in the Night._

_Ready? Here we go!_

__ _ __ __ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ ___ _ _ _ _ _ _

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

**Masquerade in the Night**

**by Green Phantom Queen**

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

**Chapter 12-Horologium, The Pendulum Clock**

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Morning soon broke in the village of Modera. Everything was calm and peaceful.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE WE FORGOT!!!"

Then again...not everything was calm and peaceful for the four veteran members of the Dream Circus.

"I can't believe we forgot yesterday was the 5 year anniversary!" Brian yelled to Paul, Ashley and Maria. "What do we do? What do we do?!"

Paul grabbed onto the shoulders of Brian with a set of arms that were floating from mid-air. "Calm down." He said. "We'll just have to tell Gangrel about this. Most likely he's forgotten it due to the fact we're fighting an evil entity and we're on a quest to reunite 6 Guardians."

"True." said Ashley. "But what are we going to do now?"

Maria shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe we just get some gifts and decorate with some ribbon." she said,

"Ahem." The four looked up to see Gangrel, staring at him and tapping his foot impatiently. Paul was smart enough to make the floating hands disappear just before the ringleader could ask any suspicious questions.

"So," he said. "You forgot also?" The four teenagers nodded. Gangrel sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Yeah...the whole Darkness thing is getting to us. We seriously need a break."

Maria's stomach started to growl. "And breakfast." She replied.

Ashley laughed a bit. "Come on, let's start feeding the animals. Paul, Brian, can you help prepare breakfast?"

"It's better than shopping duty." said Brian.

"And with a few helping hands, we'll get the job done." Paul muttered as the two left.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

"There you go!" said Maria, bringing out some food to Terrah and Ven. The two sphinxes started to gobble it down greedily while Lestat tried his hardest to get a morsel. Lestat mewed sadly as he stared at Maria with sad eyes.

"I didn't forget you, little one." said Maria, bringing out a small food dish for the male sphinx cub. He immediately started to munch down on the food while Maria skipped off with some hay for the horses.

"Good thing Jack and Lucas aren't that hungry," said Ashley, stirring together some chicken feed and fresh blood together. "I can't believe they're only babies though; they look like teenage dragons to me. And the quicker they eat, the quicker I can get away from the smell."

"Relax, Ash." said Maria. "After finding out that your breath can be a poison, the smell of blood would be like daisies to you." She let her hand run through the feathers of the three gryphons before going to Randy's panther, who was snoozing away. "And as long as it doesn't activate near the animals, then we're fine."

"So," said Ashley, changing the subject. "What are we doing today?"

"Why not try that library, the Recorder Archives?" said Maria. "Maybe we'll find some clues about Gaea and Darkness...and maybe something about Dusk."

Ashley sighed, washing off the blood from her hands. "I can't believe something so dangerous is inside someone who is so caring." she murmured. "But why?"

Maria shrugged her shoulders as she placed some more food for the other animals. "I don't know, Ashley." she said. "I just don't know."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Breakfast was set by the time everyone was awake. Paul and Brian collapsed into their seats, their heads banging against the plates.

"Ow." said Brian. "That was rough work."

"I can understand how the girls feel about making meals three times a day." Paul moaned.

"Breakfast!" Prince Jeri cried as he sat down. "What's there to eat?" It was there that Lestat ran toward him, sitting upon his lap and purring in delight.

"Aw," said Adam, petting the Sphinx cub on the head. "He's adorable...what are you going to do with him?"

Prince Jeri shrugged his shoulders. "Not sure yet."

"Prince Jeri," said Molly running to his side. "You need to wear your cap!" Prince Jeri just inched away from the hat...it was in a shade of bubblegum pink, with white kitty ears on top of it.

"NOOOO!" He cried, hugging onto Adam. "Don't make me wear it! I'm scared of the color pink!"

Adam pushed Prince Jeri away from him as Molly placed the hat on his head. Prince Jeri started to turn a shade of red as he started to sink into his seat until the only thing left of him was the hat on his head.

"He looks so cute!" Mickie squealed. "And that shade of pink is great on him!"

"What about my cape?" said John, showing the wolf and moon decorated cape he was wearing. "It's awesome, isn't it?"

"But expensive." Randy muttered, shaking his money bag, which now contained at least 15 melodi and 4 beats. "It drained my money!"

"Don't worry," said John. "I'll give you your reward--" He then whispered something in Randy's ear; whatever it was, it caused the necromancer to blush.

"Y-you don't have to do that, John." said Randy, turning his face away. "I-it's too embarassing."

"Nonsense!" Said John, hugging him. "It can't be bad for my best friend!"

Molly drank from her glass of milk, wiping a drop from her face with a paw. "Ah, this is a delicious meal!"

Gangrel immediately tapped on his glass, getting everyone's attention. "Attention everyone." He started. "Since we could not do this yesterday, I want to explain today that it has been 5 years since the Dream Circus was created." Many of the members started to clap. "Now, we will be leaving for Vivaci in two days. Everyone knows of the threat that Darkness is awakening, and that is why we're heading off to the Recorder Archives to check up on anything that could help us on our quest."

"Sweet!" said Jeff, bouncing up and down on his seat. "I always wanted to get a book on painting. Because I always wanted to paint some dragons and fire and smoke and..."

Matt pinched the bridge of his nose. "Jeff, did you eat any of the leftover candy from last night?"

"Um," said Jeff, twiddling his fingers. "I may have had one or two Mallow Sheep...3 Rainbow Cloud Fluffs, 5 Snapdragon blossoms..." He stayed silent, counting on his fingers. "And about 20 Sugar eggs."

Matt pinched the bridge of his nose once more. "That's it," he murmured, pulling out a vial of green, bubbling liquid from his pocket. "Open wide Jeff, it's time for your medicine."

Jeff gulped as he saw his brother uncork the vial. Inside the container was the nectar of the Whispering Fate flower, which was known to help calm down a hyper child or—in Jeff's case—spew out all the sugar he ate. The poor Hardy brother didn't have time to react as Matt poured it down his throat.

"He doesn't look so good," said Shannon as Jeff turned an interesting shade of green. Jeff immediately ran into a bush and started to throw up.

"Gross." said Jay, seeing all of the spewed out sugar on the plant. "What the heck is he? A bottomless pit?"

Gangrel pinched the bridge of his nose. "Could someone give Jeffrey here some napkins?"

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

After getting Jeff cleaned off—which was harder than it looked—the Circus made its way into the Recorder Archives. The outside was marvelous: it was made of white marble, with a golden dome on top and it was three stories tall. Two white lions faced the group on the sides of a long trail of stairs heading up to the door. In the windows were many people reading some of the scrolls and books that were there.

Gangrel opened the door to the library, while everyone gasped in surprise...there were shelves filled with hundreds upon thousands of books, and a beautiful painting above them depicting the sun perching upon the Pagliacchi Mountains. On the ground there was a beautiful mosaic representation of Harmonia and the smell of wood just filled the air. What was also interesting was all of the clocks that were seen, their pendulums swinging as the 'tick tock' noise of the second hand going around in circles made an interesting composition.

An old man, wearing a nice suit and tie came in, beaming at the 16 people that had walked into the building. He took a deep breath and...

"WELECOME TO THE RECORDER ARCHIVES!" he boomed, causing poor Prince Jeri to cover his ears. Not surprising, the shelves in the room started to tremble "My name is Howard Finkel, but you may call me 'The Fink'. How may I help you today?"

"Um," said Adam, trying to stop the ringing in his ears. "We just needed a map to the library."

"EXCELLENT!" Finkel boomed, causing everyone in the room to tremble. He handed Adam a small scroll as he continued, "Take the opportunity to try out all of the different subjects we have because no other library in Harmonia has such an extensive collection such as us! If you need any help, just use this..."

He then brought out a small bell that was made of pure silver which was immediately grabbed by Prince Jeri.

"Shiny...." Prince Jeri whispered as he marveled at it. Howard Finkel beamed at them as he soon left for his daily rounds.

"Okay," said Gangrel, stopping the ringing his ears. "Why don't we all just split up into groups of four and meet up by about 1 or 2?"

"Actually," said John. "I want to be alone with Randy, please?"

"Fine, fine." Gangrel muttered, waving a hand to bid them away. "But be back."

"Yay!" said John, dragging Randy away. Randy once again had a look on his face that was pleading for help.

"Guess I'll go with Matt and Jeff." said Shannon, giving high-fives to the brothers.

"Let's all go together!" Maria cheered to Ashley and Mickie who gave her a thumb's up.

"We'll be partners." said Brian, wrapping an arm around Paul.

"And we'll stay with them." said Molly, pointing to Adam and Jay.

Gangrel smiled to himself, seeing the enthusiasm of his Circus; it was times like this that it didn't matter what was happening to the world. The safety of the Circus came first, in his mind.

"All right." he said. "I'll be here checking up some maps. If you need me, just..."

He didn't have anytime to say the rest as everyone had rushed to wherever they were going to.

"Never mind." He said to himself, letting out a sigh.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

John dragged Randy into the top of the library where there was a large telescope and many maps of the stars surrounding them. Randy could only gasp in surprise and aw as John started to pull out one of the astrological maps down from a shelf.

"I've been in the Recorder Archives a couple of times, actually." John explained, unraveling the scroll on a table. "Sure, it was me as a wolf, but I know this place by heart...I wanted to show you my favorite exhibit."

"And what's that?" said Randy, unable to see what exactly was going on; the only thing he could see on that piece of paper was white dots.

"This!" said John, adjusting the telescope. His hands turned the gears, trying to zoom in on the right area. He stepped back as he pushed Randy toward the telescope. "Check it out."

Randy gazed through the large spyglass and gasped: he was seeing a swirling galaxy from thousands of light years away, dancing amongst the small dots of light. It looked so serene...

"Wow," The necromancer gasped. "It's beautiful."

"So are you." Randy did a double take, turning to John. "I mean it," said John. "I mean, the way you move your arms when you conduct the spirits to dance, or the determination in your eyes when you fought Lucifer...if I could, I'd marry you."

Randy's face immediately turned an interesting shade of red. "Um...what..."

John laughed a bit. "I can't believe you fell for it. Of course I wouldn't marry you!" he replied. "I mean..I wouldn't do it...yet..." John turned around, twiddling his thumbs as a pair of wolf's ears started to grow on his head. "I...like you...I mean, really like you...you were the first friend I found in the Dream Circus...."

"So were you," Randy replied. "Yeah, I like you also...but..." Randy felt a finger on his lips.

"No talking right now," John whispered, going to a light switch. The dome above them suddenly turned dark, and stars started to shine above the two. "Let's just rest and stare at the stars."

"Wow..." Randy said in a whisper, the two boys holding hands.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Ashley, Maria and Mickie were on the second floor, looking up some of the books pertaining to magic spells. Around them, many of the books were opened showing different images and words they were unable to decipher.

"Man, if only we had something to help us out." said Ashley, going through her tenth book. "I can barely understand what they're saying."

Maria hit her head. "Duh!" She cried out. "I can't believe I forgot I had that!" She pulled something out of her pocket, a small bronze diamond made of 16 small tiles and placed it near an open scroll.

"Mage runes?!" Ashley said in a loud whisper. "That lets you translate any language that has been recorded on it."

"Would make sense," Mickie replied. "Maria's family had Scholars, so they must've given it to her as a memento."

The diamond split in half as it started to scan the letters from the book. They appeared on a transparent monitor it had, until the translated lines were stated in front of them.

"Okay," said Maria. "This scroll is...not one that's supposed to be here. It's not a spell...but more of a children's story."

"Looks like someone must've mixed the books up during reshelving." said Ashley, reading the text through Maria's device. "It's called _The Children that were Never Born._"

"That's deep." said Mickie, as the three started to read the text.

_**Before Darkness and Gaea slept in their resting places, they wanted someone to judge the world when they could no longer do so.**_

_**They decided to have a son. He was made from the kindness of Gaea, and the strength of Darkness.**_

_**He was known as Dusk, the Guardian of Harmonia itself.**_

_**He was to judge the world fairly, and watch over the land to make sure everyone was doing their job. And for some time, all was well. Nothing bad happened.**_

_**But one day, chaos and evil seeped into the world. Darkness came down to stop it, but was attacked by the intruders. The injuries of his father caused Dusk to nearly destroy Harmonia.**_

_**Seeing this act, Gaea and Darkness cried for days, sending healing rain amongst the land. But it did not change Dusk's anger for them, for hurting his parents. Both entities could only do one thing: kill their son.**_

_**His body became mortal, and he fell into the sky like a shooting star, streaking across the heavens. Gaea then used her magic to create the 6 Guardians of Harmonia, each of them sent to protect a specific kingdom. Darkness then used his magic to try and help his sister—angry that she had the right to create something without his permission—but his magic corrupted them.**_

_**Seeing the failure once more, Gaea split the 6 Guardians into a Guardian and Vessel, sending the souls of the Vessels down to Earth. Darkness tried to apologize, and Gaea accepted it. Seeing that there was no other solution, they decided to let the world run its course, and they would sleep.**_

_**Darkness descended into the Void, a portal into the other side. Where that is, no one has been able to find out. Gaea ascended into the sky, her sleeping figure helping to guide people on their daily lives. Both of them wait until the day that they will be reunited with their children once more...**_

The three girls gasped in horror as they finished reading the story.

"Dusk was Darkness and Gaea's child?" Ashley gasped.

"This is so not good." said Maria. "This is _**so**_ not good."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Paul and Brian were searching in the history section, looking up some old notes. They were currently checking out some old headlines of _Gaea's Sacred Word_, one of the most popular newspapers in Harmonia.

"Check it out," said Brian, magnifying the small print of the news. "There was some sort of massacre about 8 years ago in this small village known as Symphoni. An entire circus known as the Circus of Freedom and a couple of children died there, due to some sort of strange being with wings."

"Dusk?" Paul whispered. "No, that can't be true. Could it?"

Brian moved the magnifying glass into a silhouette of 'Dusk'. "It looks just like him." He murmured. "And it says here that out of all the people that were killed, there were two that looked kind of familiar."

Paul stared at the two photos from the obituaries...despite the fact that it was in black and white—like all editions of that newspaper—they did look familiar. He pointed to the one on the left.

"That looks just like Gangrel," he whispered. "But he's listed as David Heath here." He then pointed to the small boy. "And his name was known as Lestat..."

"Something does not add up here," said Brian, writing some notes down on a piece of paper. "We need to take this to the others."

"What about telling this to Gangrel?" asked Paul, still observing the portraits of the two.

"We don't tell him." said Brian. "But we tell everyone else; they deserve to know what's going on." The two jesters read the map that was on the table, dragging their fingers into the Art section of the library.

"We're going to need Jeff." Paul muttered under his breath.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Matt, Jeff and Shannon were in the Art section of the library, trying to find the section on how to dragons. They had currently went through the sections on vampires, fairies and elves....still no dragons.

"It would be so cool if I can draw something as beautiful as them," Jeff murmured, his hands full of books. "Then I'd be able to make our outfits based on the dragons."

"For me, I'm just lucky we found something about snakes here." said Shannon, sitting on the ground, his face glued to the design on their skeletal structure. "These are really detailed."

Matt was trying his hardest to grab a book on fire, but his hand knocked another one down, hitting Shannon on the head. "Oops."

Shannon sighed as he picked up the book and unraveled it. "Okay, who the hell is the guy who's reshelving this place? This doesn't have anything to do with art....wait a sec."

Jeff dropped the books he was carrying and looked above Shannon's shoulder. "What the...it's a poem...I mean, poetry is an art...but not a drawing art."

Matt peered at the book. "It's called _The Circus of Dreams_."

_**In the seats, David and I stare at the performers. **_

_**There are the jesters that made us laugh, and the ones who can breathe fire into different forms.**_

_**There are the lions and tigers that roar and kept me on the edge of my seat. **_

_**There were the plays that made me cry, and the performers that could fly into the sky.**_

_**There were performers who risked their body to make us smile, and we did smile. **_

_**The two of us continued to smile even after the show ended.**_

_**And I asked David, "Will we ever make a Circus of our own? One that will top theres?"**_

_**David smiled and patted me on the head. "Of course we will."**_

"_**You promise?" I asked him. David smiled once more and we linked our pinkies together.**_

_**We swore that we would stick together to make a Circus of our own.**_

_**We would call it, our Circus of Dreams.**_

"The Dream circus." Shannon whispered. "Holy shit."

"The person who wrote this was named Lestat." said Jeff. "And this David person...there's no one like him in our Circus."

Matt rubbed his chin in thought. "Something really doesn't add up here...David and Lestat...and the Dream Circus...Gangrel said he called it the Dream Circus because of some memory he had."

"But Gangrel is Gangrel, and Gangrel is not David." said Shannon. He rubbed his head, frustrated. "Ah, this is so confusing."

Paul and Brian immediately ran to them, both panting for breath and carrying some notes. "Guys, you won't believe what we found." Brian said.

"Check this out." said Paul, handing the three some notes. "Apparently there was some incident about 8 years ago with the massacre of a couple of kids, and an entire circus. Apparently, Dusk killed everyone in that site...particularly these two."

Matt, Jeff and Shannon gasped at the two pictures of David Heath and Lestat. They both had striking resemblances to Gangrel and Dusk.

"Jeff," said Brian. "Can you draw four pictures: One each of Gangrel and Dusk, plus ones of these two...we need to get some information. And fast."

Jeff nodded his head. "I'll see what I can do..." he murmured. "But I don't draw for free."

Paul pinched the bridge of his nose. "All right, all right." he said. "We'll take you to the candy shop for some Mini Ropes...Cherry and Blue Raspberry flavored."

"And we'll throw in Sugar Note Kit." said Brian. "A box of gummy candy that are in the shapes of Music notes. Will that work?"

Jeff had immediately left the group and grabbed some paper from a couple of shelves near the door. He then seated himself on a table, and started scribbling away the portfolios with a piece of charcoal.

Shannon gave the poem to Brian. "Read this," he said. "Matt and I are going to look up some more poetry with the author 'Lestat' in them. Maybe we'll find out why Gangrel called it the Dream Circus...."

Matt and Shannon soon left, leaving Brian and Paul with a couple of books on the ground.

Brian shot a glance at Paul. "So, how much money do you have?" He asked.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 **

Adam and Jay were trying their hardest to help Prince Jeri grab a couple of books he wanted. Molly was already reading some to Prince Jeri while the twins were being tortured to get more.

"What type of kid wants to read 30 fairy tales?" said Adam. "And not stop?!"

"This is hell!" said Jay, finding a book. "All I wanted was a book on circuses; now I'm searching for stories of circuses. Just great..." He stopped when he unraveled the book in his hands. "Check this out; it's a picture book called _My Little Circus_."

Prince Jeri looked up as Jay and Adam sat down next to him. "Can I read it?" Molly nodded her head, sighing in relief that she didn't have to read another story.

Adam looked at one of the pages that depicted two boys with blonde hair and big smiles on their faces. "Um guys," He said. "Don't those two look...familiar?"

Prince Jeri and Molly nearly screamed in terror...both of the boys looked similar to Gangrel and Dusk...well minus the fact that the older boy looked more cheerful and the younger boy didn't have that scary grin and wings on his back.

"It says that this book was written by a boy named Lestat." said Jay, looking at the book cover. "And this tells of a dream of two boys known as David Heath...and Lestat."

Prince Jeri turned a page, and it showed two jesters...one black and one white. "There will be two jesters who will make people laugh at their antics." Prince Jeri read from the book. He turned the page and a girl with long blonde hair was swinging on the trapeze. "And a girl who has hair that shines like the stars will fly into the sky."

The next page showed of a young girl with a rainbow surrounding her, the one on the right had two boys with fire near them. Prince Jeri stopped reading as the four started to read the rest of the story...it continued to show different performers from a boy draping down a silk curtain, a boy conducting spirits, a snake charmer, a contortionist and a pair of twins with a couple of lions near them. The rest of the pages....were blank.

"Dude," said Adam as Prince Jeri closed the book shut. "Those drawings...they looked like us."

"This is getting creepy." said Jay. "Everyone one in that book has an exact resemblance to all of the members of the Dream Circus...is it also coincidence that the name of the Circus is known as the Circus of Dreams?"

"Something doesn't add up then." said Molly. "What is going on here?"

Prince Jeri picked up the small bell that he kept in his pocket. "It's time to meet this Fink." He rang the bell. Suddenly a small floating disc fell from below, and a young woman with curly blonde hair wearing a white dress was smiling at them.

"Nice to meet you," said the girl. "My name's Tiffany, I'm a helper in the Recorder Archives. What do you need?"

"Hi there." said Adam. "We want some information about this boy named Lestat. You have any?"

"Ah, Lestat." said Tiffany. "Yes, he and David would publish works about their dream circus. Poor them...their bodies were never found."

"What happened to them?" said Jay.

Tiffany sighed. "Well...that's a mystery no one has ever solved."

"Are there any works written by Lestat and David Heath? Or anything about them in general?" asked Molly.

Tiffany nodded their head. "The two collaborated to make many works which we keep in these shelves. Of course, they were all about the circus but...wait a minute." She turned to the four. "Aren't you members of the Dream Circus? I saw your performance last night; that Major Arcana XVII act was marvelous."

Adam smiled a bit. "It was nothing." He muttered.

"I get it." said Tiffany, as she lead the four to a different section of the library. "You're trying to get some inspiration for your next performance, and you heard of their works."

"Um, yeah." said Jay. "That's what we're doing."

"Well," said Tiffany, turning to the four. "You've come to the right person; I know everything about the children's section of the Recorder Archives."

"Yay!" said Prince Jeri while Molly adjusted the pink cap on his head.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Gangrel was currently reading some of the maps, trying to plot a route to get to the next Temple. For some reason, some old nursery rhyme was ringing through his head.

_**Leonard's Temple can only be seen with a light's glow**_

_**Vega's Temple is inside the peaks topped with snow**_

_**Edge's Temple is in the forest of green.**_

_**Willow's Temple is within the hills unseen.**_

_**Voltage's Temple lies within the rocks of red**_

_**Christian's Temple rests in the final place for the dead.**_

_**When all 6 Guardians finally awake.**_

_**The seals of Darkness and Gaea will break.**_

He had tried taking a cup of tea to help out, but the chanting of the verses kept repeating in his head and he couldn't understand what was going on. Perhaps these were hints to where the other Temples were at...he couldn't be entirely sure of that.

_Daybreak, do you understand what all of this means? _He said in his mind.

_**Mm...well, Leonard's Temple was found in the Chopi woods...and you found it at night. The light's glow was Brian's Glow Ring, which was how you were able to find out that he was Leonard's Vessel.**_

_Then what about this next one? The temple that is inside the peaks topped with snow...wait a minute. Twili is the Kingdom of Light, and Vega is one of the stars in the constellation Lyra. Sarah also gave us the Orb of Dawn to unlock it. Then that means...the Pagliacchi Mountains! That's the only place in Twili that would have snow._

_**That's an excellent suggestion! But what about the next one?**_

_The third one is in the Kingdom of Geb...in the forest of green...the Tchaikov Forest...it's green even in Winter. _

He didn't have time to say anything else when the sound of two bells started to chime; his stomach started to growl.

"Damn it," Gangrel muttered to himself. "Where is everyone else?"

A stampede followed as 15 teenagers immediately came up, all of them looking exhausted and many of them carrying papers in their hands.

"We're here." said Jeff. "What's for lunch?"

"Well," said Gangrel. "I do hear that they have a nice pizza place near here. So if anyone wants any suggestions..."

"Sausage!" Jay cried out.

"No, green peppers!" said Adam.

"I'll take pineapple!" Maria squealed.

"Three cheese!" Jeff yelled out.

"SHHHHHH!" Gangrel said, shushing everyone out. "Just write down your requests and I'll get them also. Oh, and is there anything else you want me to buy?"

"Yeah," said Brian, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "We need you to buy some Mini ropes, Cherry and Blue Raspberry flavored, plus a Sugar Note box...it's for Jeff."

Gangrel just stared at Jeff. "How much candy are we talking here?"

"Um," said Jeff, twiddling his fingers. "It's half a pound of Mini ropes, and just one box of Sugar Notes...that 's around Two melodi."

Gangrel pinched the bridge of his nose. "All right, all right." He muttered. "Just meet me back at the Circus Tent in a while, alright?"

The children nodded their heads as they left the building..

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

In the Circus tent, the group had brought out a painter's easel, some paper and a couple of pens while the rest of the animals huddled together around them. Stryker was already asleep in Adam's lap while Lestat was trying to remove Prince Jeri's cap.

"All right," said Brian, pointing to the easel. "We are currently on a case here: the Case of the Mistaken Identities."

"That's too cheesy." said Shannon.

"And who's talking here?" asked Brian while Shannon stayed silent. "Good. Now as you can see..." He lifted up a paper form the pad and four beautifully drawn self-portraits were seen, each of them labeled underneath. "Jeff was given the liberty of drawing the faces of these four: Gangrel, Dusk, David Heath and Lestat."

"Um, excuse me." said John, raising a hand. "Who the heck are the last two?"

Paul sighed. "David Heath and Lestat," he explained. "Were two boys who were going to make a circus...our circus...The Dream Circus. David Heath has a resemblance to Gangrel, while Lestat looked similar to Dusk." He pointed to the charcoal drawings at the bottom. "These two made a couple of poems and a picture book about that dream circus. And check this out..."

Ashley brought out a couple of colored pictures—which they were able to copy—and brought it out on a chalk board. Each of them were taped, and the text that corresponded with the drawing was beneath it.

"These were found by Adam, Jay, Prince Jeri and Molly." Ashley explained. "These drawings resemble the members of the Circus—minus Gangrel, Prince Jeri and Molly. Each drawing resembles the first 12 members of the Circus; whether we like it or not, this David Heath and Lestat had some big plans."

"So you think Gangrel just chose us because we looked just like them?" Randy cried out, the information flowing through his mind. "That's just crazy!"

Maria shook her head. "We don't understand what's going on...but we do know a couple of things." She cleared her throat as she read through the notes.

"1) Matt, Jeff and Shannon found a poem written by Lestat telling of how the idea of the Dream Circus was formed. It tells of how David and Lestat meeting up with a Circus one evening, and promising each other that they will create a Circus of their own."

"2) The short story Ashley, Mickie and I found tells of the story of Dusk, the guardian of Harmonia. Lestat has a big resemblance to Dusk...but the problem is that Dusk is a spirit living within Gangrel, and Lestat is just a young boy...or should I say _**was**_ a young boy."

"3) The newspaper clippings that Paul and Brian found stated that the Circus that performed in the town of Symphonia was killed by Dusk. Moreover, both Lestat and David were killed...their bodies were never found."

"That doesn't make any sense." said Matt. "Dusk lives inside Gangrel...how could he create that massacre? And anyway, even if Lestat looks like Dusk, it doesn't mean they're the same."

"Lestat and David died 8 years ago." said Prince Jeri. "Gangrel created the Dream Circus 5 years ago...there's a 3 year gap between that....anything could've happened during then."

"Don't forget the short story." said Paul. "Dusk mentioned his mother and father...he was talking about Darkness and Gaea...and he got angry when Gaea created the 6 Guardians. He wants to get rid of the 6 Guardians and make sure he'd be the only child left."

"It would explain Brian's case," said Molly. "He is the Vessel of Leonard...but he got mad at Adam and Jay also....but they don't look like Vessels."

"We don't know if Adam and Jay are Vessels." said Brian. "All we can do is just wait and see what happens."

Prince Jeri's ears twitched a bit, Lestat—the sphinx cub—finally was able to knock off Prince Jeri's cap. "Um, guys. Gangrel's coming!"

"Shit!" said Paul as he and Brian started packing all the papers and notes away. By the time they came back, Gangrel was already carrying at least 10 pizza boxes in his hands.

"All right," Gangrel muttered from behind the containers ."Just get these pies off of my hands and then we can eat. Oh and Jeff, the candy is in the wooden cart."

"YAY!" said Jeff, rushing toward the wooden cart.

The rest of the Circus shot each other glances, the logic on the Gangrel/David and Lestat/Dusk thing still swarming their minds. But none of them couldn't say anything due to empty stomachs though, so they started to set down the pizza boxes away from the animals and onto the risers.

Jeff came back, carrying a small box of candy and a Cherry and Blue Raspberry Mini rope was in his mouth. He slurped it up like a pasta noodle and swallowed.

"Anyone else want candy?" he asked.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

There was nothing to do in the afternoon, so everyone was relaxing on their day off. The Dream Circus—having shopped for themselves—were currently buying Magic supplies from a huge building known as the _Hocus Pocus Hut._

"Sweet!" said Jeff, looking at a box of black powder. "These are the ashes of a phoenix; this'll bring in a bang in our firework display, Matt! And then we'll go boom, boom, BOOM! The audience will be so amazed when we show all of this..."

Jeff stopped when he saw Matt near a bunch of vials of Whispering Fate nectar. The younger Hardy brother gulped as he saw Matt picks some up and head off to the cashier.

Maria stared at the beauitufl rainbow colored jewel in front of her. "That's so pretty. I can do something with it..." She immediately placed a clefa to the cashier, giggling happily when the jewel was in her hands.

Ashley and Mickie were admiring the craftsmanship of the many wands in front of them...both of them trying their hardest not to buy one.

"Should we?" asked Ashley, staring at her Twinkle Star staff. "I mean...should we?"

"Nah." said Mickie. "Any expert can make these types of wands. Maria's gift of kindness and creativity are the only things that made our staffs."

Jay was at an area where there were shelves that were completely full of Spheres...his Sphere supply was completely depleted, and he needed some for the road. He immediately grabbed a Sunny Sphere, a Rainy Sphere plus got his hands on a Map Sphere, a Shifty Sphere and at least 10 more Spheres.

"Um," Jay." said Adam, a couple of arrows and crystals in hand. "We're supposed to buy supplies for emergencies...not to run the place empty."

"Seriously?" said Jay, rolling his eyes. "And what's with all of those crystals?"

Adam blushed a bit. "Well that archery thing gave me an idea...these crystal fragments combined with these arrows can really be useful when we fight against other monsters. They're really cheap, and I thought Maria can use her Fusion Alchemy to give these arrows a special ability."

"But if you use each arrow one time, then you'd nead hundreds of arrows and crystals!" Jay exclaimed.

"That's why I bought this," said Adam, bringing out a book that read _How to Create Magical Arrows_. "I saved up some twigs from the Chopi Woods, and a couple of feathers from the ravens. So now, the combination of black wood and black feathers plus one awesome crystal will equal AWESOME POWER!!!!"

Adam's voice echoed inside the store for a couple of seconds until everything went to normal. Jay whapped his brother on the head.

"Don't do stuff like that," he muttered.

Shannon found a set of henna ink, and a small card that read: "In most aboriginal tribes that dates long before modern thinking, the tribes marked themselves in tattoos, thought to give them magical powers. They used henna and other natural ingredients because it was said to be the gifts of Gaea herself."

It didn't take that long before Shannon bought it and started doodling different designs on his arms and stomach.

"For the love of Gaea..." Brian muttered, seeing two batons in front of them. It was a special set known as the Balance Rods: one of them black topped with a black dragon head with white eyes, and one was white topped with a white bat with black eyes.

"That is so cool!" said Paul. "And they're for sale...only 5 Melodi!"

"Seems like it's Discount Day." said Brian, bringing the staffs to the cashier. "And if we're going to be fighting off evil entities, it doesn't help that you're being prepared."

"True." said Paul. "True."

Prince Jeri squirmed a bit under Molley's grip as girls started to adore his cute looks. He tried to run away but Molly had a tight grip on his arm.

"Please get away from me," He said to the girls with cute kitty eyes. "I'm very fragile..."

The girls ignored his advice and continued to smother him in love while Molly could do nothing but laugh at the current situation. Prince Jeri's cap was still stuck on his head, but with the pressure of the girls squishing him, that little cap would soon be removed and his kitty ears would be seen. Molly didn't have that kind of privilege since her ears were hidden by a maroon woolen cap.

Randy looked in awe at all the books in front of him; in all his life, he never could imagine about all of the books on magic spells and powers that were in front of him. John, unfortunately, was his stepping stone. Randy was standing on top of the Lupin prince's back, while John was whining like a puppy.

"Can you get off me now?" John whined for the umpteenth time. "I can't hold it any longer."

"Not yet," said Randy, looking at the covers on the spines of the books. "I need to see what else is...Hey! They actually have a book on advanced potions! Oh, and there's one about familiars!"

"Well get familiar with the pain in my arms!" John yelled out his arms trembling. "Because they're about to go!"

Randy soon hopped off of John's back, staring at all the books he had. "And these are all on sale too!" He squealed, hugging the hard covered jewels. "I can't wait to read them!"

"Yay." said John, as he collapsed onto the ground. "Can we go yet?"

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Jim Ross sighed, seeing the happy faces of the children in the orphanage. Ever since the encounter with the puppeteer, MNM made good word on their promise. And as far as old Ross was concerned, he was happy that everything was finally going out peacefully.

Two young kids, one girl and one boy were playing catch with a ball. The boy threw it to hard, and it went pass the fence.

"I'll get it." said Mercury, standing up. "Be right back." He leaped over the fence, immediately seeing the little toy in front of him. But as he picked it up, a rustling noise came in front of him. Mercury looked up seeing a transparent figure drenched his blood and his head cocked to the side smiling to him.

"Hi," the person said, bringing out his hand. "Do you know the way to the palace?"

Mercury dropped the ball in his hand as he started to back away slowly; unfortunately, his back hit the fence. Many of the kids looked at him in wonder, not sure what to make of the scene.

"W-who are you?" He cried.

The man just looked around. "I need to find my family, I need to go to the palace. Take me with you." The man inched closer and closer as Mercury screamed for help.

"HELP! HELP! HELP! HELP!" Mercury cried. "SOMEONE HELP!"

Suddenly he heard voices, he turned to the left to see Melina and Nitro rushing toward toward him.

"What the heck is going on here?" said Nitro. He then turned to see the bloody person in front of him. "A GHOST!"

The man frowned, as a black aura surrounded him. "If you won't take me to the palace, I'll take you to my home!" Suddenly, black shadowy hands grabbed onto MNM, the three screaming in terror as they started to sink into the ground.

"Stop it!" Melina screamed. "STOP IT!"

As if someone heard her cry the ghost suddenly vanished, and so did the hands. MNM just panted for breath as Ross ran up to them.

"What's going on?" asked Ross.

Mercury stared at the spot where the man was. "Something was after us...we need help."

Nitro nodded his head. "We need the Dream Circus....and fast." He whispered, seeing the flags from the Circus tent flying freely.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

_What is the connection between David Heath, Lestat, Gangrel and Dusk?_

_What is with the coincidence of the Dream Circus and the writings in the Library?_

_Who was that ghost that tried to hurt MNM?_

_And what is truth behind the mystery of the massacre in Symphoni?_

_All this and more in the next chapter!_

_Read and Review!_


	13. Crater, The Cup

_Number 13! And now things get really interesting._

_So let's start!_

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**Masquerade in the Night**

**by Green Phantom Queen**

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**Chapter 13-Crater, The Cup**

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"So we all agree," said Gangrel, pointing to a map of Harmona drawn on a chalkboard. "In two days, we head to Vivace, and one day after that, we head off to the Pagliacchi Mountains. Using the Orb of Dawn we have in our possession, we'll use it to open the Temple of Light and meet up with Vega, the Guardian of Light."

"Then that means we'll need to really hightail it." said Paul, bringing in a couple of drawings of the mountains. "According to this old tome that Randy found in the magic shop, the Relic of Light needs to shine the light of the sun when rises. So in three days, we need to be at the base of the mountains, and by the rise of the fourth day, we should be inside the Temple."

"And then we'll be off to the Satin Road and into the Great Desert which will leads us to the Kingdom of Geb." Brian followed up. "So right now, let's get some well deserved--"

"WAIT!" The Dream Circus turned to see MNM come rushing through the Circus tent.

"What's going on this time?" said Maria. "Need help with the orphanage?"

"There's a ghost that's been haunting us!" Mercury cried out. "It was...I mean..."

Jeff brought out his sketchbook and a pencil. "I'll draw you the portrait, but it's going to cost you."

"Sure." said Nitro, tossing Jeff 5 melodi. "Want this?"

Jeff shook his head. "I mean cost you candy."

Melina sighed, bringing out a bag of sweets from her purse. "My last bag of Sugar Taffy...fine." She tossed it into Jeff's lap who immediately started to rip the wax paper off the first sweet.

"Jeff," said Matt, bringing out a vial of Whispering Fate nectar. "Save the candy until tomorrow. If you don't, I'll be shoving three vials of this stuff down your---"

Jeff spat out the candy. "So Mercury," he said. "What did this person look like?"

"Transparent." said Mercury. "But he also had royal garbs similar to the Hart Family, but it was covered in blood. He had blonde hair and his head was tilted to the side as if he couldn't make stay on its original position. Oh, and he also some bone sticking out of his neck."

"Gross!" said Mickie.

"Um," said Jeff, lifting the pencil off the paper. "What are the royal garbs of the Hart Family? And who is this the Hart Family?"

"Are you that dense?!" said Nitro. "The Hart Family has ruled the land of Twili for the past 40 years, and they are famous for their support for knowledge and education. Their royal garbs consist of the colors of black and pink, and the current king is Bret 'The Hitman' Hart."

"NOT PINK!" Prince Jeri cried, hugging Molly. "I won't go near him then!"

"Don't worry." said Melina. "Their garbs are black and pink, but inside the castle is white marble with golden banners."

Jeff grabbed his colored pencils, trying to see where the pink and black went for the outfit. "Anything else you need to tell me?"

"Oh I don't know," Mercury rolled his eyes. "Something like him trying to take us to the other side?!"

"That does sound bad." said Randy, standing up. "Take me with you, I think I can do something about it."

"WHAT?!" said John, seating him down. "Are you nuts?! I cannot let you do something dangerous as this."

Randy rolled his eyes. "You sound like my girlfriend the way you're saying it, John." He muttered.

"I heard that, mister!" said John, shaking a finger at him. "Now you're going to stay here with me and not do something crazy. Understand?! Don't make me become a wolf right here, right now!"

Randy was about to say something but seeing the fury in John's eyes made him quiet.

"He's right." said Molly. "We're exhausted, we'll go to the castle tomorrow and have a private conference with the family. If this ghost wants to talk to the family, then that's where we start."

"Right." said Melina. "The three of us will be in the Recorder Archives and we'll try to find some stuff on any tragedies in the Hart family."

"Good." said Shannon, falling onto the ground. "Now leave. Now."

As MNM left, Ashley stared at the drawing in Jeff's hands. "What does this ghost want?"

"Whatever he wants," Adam said with a yawn. "It can wait until tomorrow; I want to sleep."

Gangrel walked outside, seeing the moon shining brightly. "It _**is**_ getting late...tomorrow, we have breakfast and we head off to the palace." He paused. "Where is the palace?"

The rest of the Dream Circus just shrugged their shoulders.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

It was nighttime. The moon shone like a beautiful silver melodi as the wind started to blow softly. The ghost walked through the town of Twili, eventually making his way back to the palace. Even in the moonlight, the marble shown in a beautiful white color, and the golden accents made it a true wonder to behold. He stared at a window on the highest tower, a memory of someone falling down and hitting the ground hundreds of feet below came into his mind.

"After all these years," He murmured. "Why?"

"You know, I wonder that myself."

The ghost turned around, looking upon one of the rooftops. The puppeteer, dressed in a black mage's robe with a blue sash and lines on the bottom of his outfit and sleeves stared down at him, his face still disguised by his blue hood.

"I gave you your body." the puppeteer said. "I can take it away if you do not do your part...your appearance brought in the Dream Circus into the picture...all we need is a special item...the Goblet of Purity."

The ghost's eyes widened. "No...anything but that...I...died protecting that item."

"I know, I know." The puppeteer said, rolling his blue eyes. "Do I really care? Do I really care? No, I don't. Either you help me get that Goblet, or else I take you to Lord David and make sure you never rest in peace."

The ghost snarled a bit, then sighed sadly. "Fine...I'll do it."

From underneath his hood, the puppeteer smirked. "Excellent." He leaped off into the night as the ghost started to enter the palace.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

August 13th. More importantly, Friday the 13th.

Randy knew that today of all days was when bad luck would be powerful at its fullest; he knew that it was when the power of a witch or warlock—whether they had grey hair or no hair at all—would have the most power in their hands. Unfortunately, it was a double-edge sword because the powers could do some very strange things if he wasn't careful. So it came to much as a surprise when...

"MY CANDY!!!!" Jeff yelled, seeing all of his sugary treats gone. "WHO STOLE MY CANDY?!"

Matt yawned, rubbing his eyes as he saw Jeff's small pile of delicious candy was missing. "Did you eat it all?" He muttered under his breath.

"Of course I didn't." said Jeff, looking under his pillow. "You had that nectar in your hands, and even _**I**_ know that it's not a good idea to eat them up with that disgusting gunk."

"Well," said Shannon. "Good riddance to the stuff. Now we can finally have some peace and quiet.":

Jeff glared and then tackled Shannon onto the ground. "So you took my candy! How dare you!"

"Um, excuse me..." Matt, Jeff and Shannon stared as a young girl with a Sugar Taffy in her hands. "Is this your candy?"

"IT IS!" said Jeff, trying to tackle the girl. Matt grabbed his hair before he could do any damage.

"Well," said the girl, her face turning red. "Somehow, you came into the orphanage late at night, and gave us the candy...and you evenread us bed time stories for about an hour and then left off into the evening...I should know because I was still awake by the time you left."

"Huh?" said Jeff, question marks floating around him. "I don't remember...any of that."

The little girl gasped as tears fell from her eyes. "You don't...remember?" she said, in a teary voice. "How could you be so cruel?"

Matt went on his knees and patted the girl on the head. "I'm sorry," he said. "But I would know if my brother was here...he snores like Jack or Lucas whenever they have head colds."

Randy—who was currently reading from his book a couple of feet away from the four—turned his head to see a girl with a couple of candies in her hand. "Oh god," he whispered. "I did it again, didn't I?"

"B-but," the girl squeaked out.

"Listen," said Shannon. "There would be no way that Jeff could just go to the orphanage and give you candy. He loves the stuff!"

"I can figure out what happened." The four turned to see Randy walking toward them. "I...might've influenced him to go and give his candy to the children instead of acting like a child."

"What?!" Jeff gasped out. "How could you?!"

"It's not my fault!" Randy said, bringing out his hands defensively. "You see, today is Friday the 13th. It's a day that the power of a witch or warlock becomes the strongest...and a bit unstable. Seeing Jeff with that candy last night, I was thinking to myself 'I just wish Jeff decided to give the candy to the kids and stay there to take care of them, instead of just being like a kid and eating too many sweets.' So what must've happened is that Jeff was sleepwalking and in his daze, not only gave the candy to the kids and read them stories..."

"It was still nice for him to do so." said the girl. "Because he acted like an older brother or a father to some of the other children...thank you." She went to Jeff and kissed him on the cheek before she left.

Shannon stared at Jeff then at Randy. "Do I even want to know where this might lead?" He asked.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

At breakfast, everyone was chatting away. Well, everyone except Randy, who was trying to make sure his powers didn't go haywire. He had been successful ever since joining the Circus, but for some strange reason...today just felt really weird. What was worse is that it was controlling the magic in his "command", "thought" or "suggestion"; the person who he talked to or whom he thought about had to obey the command in question, and there was no way they could stop themselves from doing so. It just scared him that he had this type of power...

"You okay?" said John, seeing Randy just staring at his plate of fried eggs. "You barely ate anything."

"I'm fine." Randy muttered, slicing his egg up and chewing on a piece of egg white. "I'm just not feeling well. I mean, I'm a necromancer and they're known for summoning spirits that are in the great beyond. But from what MNM said last night, I'm starting to think that something is wrong...I mean, the ghost wanted to go to the palace, but they refused and he tried to take them to the afterlife. For one thing, a ghost sending a human into the afterlife is against the rules...and he was able to speak in front of MNM, and none of them have the third eye or the powers of a medium in there."

"That does make sense." said John. "So what do you plan on doing?"

"Um," Randy said, trying to avert his gaze from the contortionist. "I'm going to try and do a séance but...." He gulped as he added. "I can't."

"Why not?" John asked him.

Randy bowed his head. "Today's Friday the 13th...on that day, witches and warlocks gain immense power...but it also becomes unstable. For me, my powers warp....so now if I speak or think of a suggestion or an idea to someone...well, let's just say they follow through."

"So that explains why Jeff didn't gorge on that candy last night." said John in thought.

"So please John, just..." Randy paused, trying to find the right words. "You understand right, you know...I just want to make sure that no one freaks out...you understand, right?"

John nodded his head.

Randy could only smile a bit as he did say one more thing. "Well, the only thing this power can't do is ruin things I write on paper." He contemplated. "As for me...well, just tell Gangrel that I can't make it to the meeting with the Hart family because of a 'curse' I have on me on Friday the 13th." It took him half a second to realize what he had done. "Ah, crap...."

For that brief second John's eyes lost all its color and he slowly nodded his head. "I understand." He whispered softly as he left and walked off.

Randy went back to finishing his fried eggs, stabbing the cooked yolk with a piece of toast and eating it. By the time he had finished, everyone had heard the news.

"ARE YOU INSANE?!" Adam cried out. "You're the only one who has the experience with the supernatural. We need you!"

"I'm not going, and that's that." Randy said back. "And if you're going to bribe me..."

"Darn it." said Jay, snapping his fingers. "But come on Randy, you sent Lucifer to Oblivion, and are able to control spirits."

"But this is a different case." Randy replied. "I can't come and I won't come."

Unfortunately, the rest of the Masquerade Circus would not take no for an answer. Randy covered his ears with his hands as everyone kept begging and pestering him to head off to the castle. After about two minutes of yelling and whining...he snapped.

"Will all of you just SHUT UP?!" He yelled. Immediately, everything was silent...the only thing they could hear was the purring of the sphinxes. "Why don't you all just clean up this damn mess, get ready, and leave me alone! Just go to the palace and give some kind of excuse as to why I'm not going and solve this damn case yourselves!"

With that, he stood up and ran away, trying to hold back tears. The rest of the members stood there in silence amid the blank looks on their faces.

"Well," said Ashley, staring at the table. "This mess isn't going to be cleaned up by itself."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

The Dream Circus—minus Randy—had finally arrived at the palace, mostly because there was a panic inside the treasury and the guards were trying to bar them in.

"This is annoying." Matt muttered to himself as they were finally walking on the halls to the throne room. "We were waiting for a whole freaking hour!"

"Look at it this way." said Shannon. "We actually get an audience with the King."

The doors opened, and everyone gasped in awe. The inside of the palace was of pure white marble, with golden accents. Black banners lined with pink draped the walls, and both walls had portraits of the illustrious Hart family. In front of them was a small stairway containing 12 steps and two thrones, one for the king and queen respectively. Walking amongst the black and pink striped carpet in front of them the Circus stopped to see the throne for the queen empty, but the king smiling at them. His black crown had garnets encrusted on it, perched onto his bed of long brown hair. He had handsome features and was wearing a black cape lined with white fur. He was wearing a pair of black silk pants and shirt which both had pink lightning bolts on them. A calm look was in his blue eyes as he stared at the Circus.

"PINK!" Prince Jeri cried, hiding behind Molly. "IT'S EVERYWHERE, MOLLY! MAKE IT GO AWAY!" His cries echoed against the otherwise empty room, causing the rest of the Dream Circus to stare at him.

"Sorry about that," said Gangrel, bowing at the king. "Prince Jeri is new, and has a fear of the color pink."

The king chuckled a bit. "That's okay, pink isn't a favorable color for most boys. But in our family, it is the colors of our heritage. I am known as Bret Hart: the best there is, the best there was, and the best there'll ever be."

"Um, King Bret?" asked Molly, raising a hand. "What is going on in the treasury?"

Bret sighed. "Someone came in late at night and stole the Goblet of Purity. It's used to anoint every ruler in the coronation ceremony and is a special treasure passed down from generation to generation. What's worse is that..." He let out another sighed as he said. "The person who stole it looked like _**him**_."

"_**Him**_?" Brian repeated. "Who's _**him**_?"

Bret pointed to the left wall. "On your right, you'll see paintings of my brothers and sisters. Find the one that looks different than the others, and you'll soon understand who I'm talking about."

Jay and Adam were already at the wall, looking at all 12 paintings, each one for a specific person in general.

"Let's see," said Adam. "We have: Smith Hart, Bruce Hart, Wayne Hart, Keith Hart, Dean Hart, Ellie Hart, Georgia Hart, Bret Hart, Alison Hart, Ross Hart, Diana Hart and...huh?"

Adam stopped at the last painting...there was nothing there except a small plaque that showed the name "Owen Hart".

"What happened to the portrait here?" said Jay, pointing to the empty space.

Bret sighed. "He died in an accident...and our parents couldn't stand the fact of not able to see their youngest son and child not able to grow up. They've kept the painting in the royal treasury, never to see the light again."

"Ooh..." Paul cringed. "That must suck."

"Wait a minute!" said Jeff, bringing out a piece of paper from his pocket and showing it to Bret. "Is this him?"

Bret's eyes widened and he almost fell from his throne. "Yes...that's him, all right. All the way down to how he looked when he died."

"Um, would it come to a surprise that he tried to take three friends of ours into the afterlife?" asked Maria.

"WHAT?!" Bret yelled out, causing everyone to cringe. "How could this happen?!"

"Let's see..." said John, counting his fingers. "The guy dies, his spirit can't sleep, and he grows bitter over the years..."

Gangrel hit him on the back of his head. "He meant how could it be that was this Owen Hart you were talking about?"

"Because," Bret began. "Rumors have been spreading that ever since mom and dad placed Owen's painting in the treasury, his soul was unable to rest. That rumor, plus the fact the sacred treasure of the Hart Family is gone, can mean only one thing."

"And what's that?" said Mickie.

Bret stared at the empty space where Owen's picture was supposed to go. "He's come back for revenge."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Randy closed his eyes, meditating. It was the only thing he could do unless his powers would go haywire. He never snapped like that, but he couldn't just go back to them after how horrible he acted. He decided to come at midnight, because when it was midnight of Saturday the 14th, for three whole hours, it was the Witching Hour (or as some paranormal freaks cried "The Wild Hunt"). The Witching Hour was when the excess magic inside him would be released, and any and all spells he created would be at least three to four times more powerful than usual. Moreover, Witching Hour was also in connection with the clan of the Lupins...

Randy tried to recall the legend of the Witching Hour: One Friday the 13th long before Sarah, the Saint of Witches was born, there was a small wolf that was being chased away by awful hunters. The little thing couldn't survive and was going to be killed...until a young witch came by and saved it. She helped nurse the little thing back to help and gave it a good home. But the peaceful times did not last; the hunters eventually found out where the wolf was hiding and the two friends had to run.

Unfortunately, the dogs sniffed them out, planning to eat the girl. Praying for help, a figure that is whispered to be known as "Lunati" came down from the moon and protected the two. She then cursed the hunters and the dogs and made them become demons, unable to die and rest in peace. As an extra bonus, Lunati stated that any person that crosses paths with this group would be cursed with death.

The young witch and wolf faded out of history, but it showed the symbiosis that the Lupin clan and the Shades—the term to describe witches, warlocks, or any dark magic user in general—continued to have to this day. Every Witching Hour for both wolves and witches was to celebrate the union of two clans...and it was said that if a marriage proposal or even a wedding was set at that time, the two sweethearts would be blessed with eternal happiness. He always wondered what happened if a Witch—or warlock, in his case—ever happened to marry a Lupin...then again, the Lupin was always a male and the Shade was a female.

"This isn't working," he muttered, scenes of him and John kissing beneath the moonlight circling his head. "Damn it...."

"Guess I should've expected it from you, right?" Randy looked up, gasping in surprise at who he saw. It was a woman, around her 40's wearing a red robe with white swirls around her sleeves. She had curly brown hair that was in a ponytail and a sweet smile on her face. The only difference between her and most woman was that she was transparent and floating. It was his mother, Elizabeth Orton Savage.

"Mom..." He whispered. "W-what are you doing here? I thought you were..."

"Yes, Randall Keith Orton Savage, I'm dead." Elizabeth said to him. "However, as you know. It is Friday the 13th...and I had been storing energy since my death for three whole years so I can talk to you."

"About what?" said Randy, crossing his arms. "This thing is affecting my thoughts....if I just think of someone, or just say something to them...I could accidentally make them obey my commands!"

"That isn't the point." said Elizabeth in a cold tone. "Every one of us back in Adagi has to go through this, even I had to go through this when I was your age. This day isn't about running away from our friends and family, it is a chance to somehow use our skills for good. I don't see you trying to help your friends out in a mission that could kill them..."

"What?" Randy said in shock. "But that can't be, we've got two princes, one blessed vessel and other stuff...how can they lose?"

"Isn't this 'John' a Lupin?" asked Elizabeth.

"Of course he is!" said Randy. Then it struck him, as if someone threw twenty pies, and all of it was custard. "He doesn't know about the Witching hour!"

"For wolves, including Lupins, the Witching Hour means that all receive Lunati's blessing." Elizabeth explained. "If John is under moonlight when the Witching Hour is at hand, he will become stronger than before...however..."

"What is it, mom?" said Randy, fear in his eyes as he could imagine many possibilities of how John would be killed.

"The person that is causing this trouble knows this secret." Elizabeth then brought out a mirror adorned with two sleeping angels on it. "I used the energy from the past Witching Hours to show you this moment...I wasn't an oracle for nothing."

The mirror then showed an image of John fighting a strange black robed person, both of them fighting to the fullest...until someone from behind John stabbed him right into his heart.

"NO!" Randy cried. "He can't die!"

"He will die if you do not do anything." Elizabeth said solemnly. "What will you do now?"

Randy stood up, and brought out a hand. Appearing out of mid-air was a wooden staff topped with a snowflake obsidian stone. A surge of power went through his body as he stared at his mother.

"I'm going to stop that monster." He whispered. Elizabeth smiled at the determined look of her son and patted his head.

"Good bye then," She whispered. "I will see you soon..." With that she vanished.

Randy stared at the spot where his mother was for a minute, then made his way to the town.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Night had fallen in the palace. Randy had left the magic store and carried a couple of supplies as he walked into the palace gates. He looked at his pocket watch: It was a quarter to midnight.

"So," a voice said. "You're the one that defeated Lucifer, aren't you?"

Randy turned around to see the puppeteer staring down at him. Through the fabric of his veil, the puppeteer smirked.

"You're the one who brainwashed Brian and Paul." said Randy, pointing a finger at the man. "Who are you?"

"Just call me K," said the puppeteer. "As we speak, your little friends are trying to fight their hardest against my little puppet. All because of this." K brought out a beautiful black goblet encrusted with pink garnets and diamonds. "The Sacred Treasure of the Hart Family, not as important as the Relics needed to unlock the Temples, but if used correctly..."

Randy blasted a black bolt of magic at K, who jumped into the air. He landed gracefully on a point of one of the gates. He then brought out his pointed finger and a silver strand of string shot from it, grabbing onto Randy's staff.

"Seriously," said Randy. "You think you can defeat me?" He pulled onto his staff, causing K to fall. Randy immediately punched him in the chest and he fell with a thud. He pointed the staff and black bands wrapped around K's wrists and ankles.

"Now let's see who you really are!" said Randy, removing the blue hood. He gasped as he saw the identity of who he was fighting: spiky blonde hair and blue eyes, it was coming back to him.

"KEN?!" Randy cried out. "What the heck—what are you doing here?!"

Ken smirked and kicked Randy in the chest before standing up. "Doing what I was supposed to do, becoming powerful to beat you. You remember, three years ago? The magic duel?"

Randy snarled at him: Hours before his mother's death, Randy had defeated Ken in a magic duel and Ken was sore that he lost. The reason? The magic duel decided the fate of the magician. Although he was a necromancer, he was also given a special ability...telekinesis. Having telekinetic powers meant that you were destined for great things, and Ken was jealous.

"I was supposed to have that power!" Ken snapped as the two grappled. "You will never be the master of it!"

Randy snarled, looking at his fallen pocket watch, there was only 7 minutes until the Witching Hour started.

"This is perfect," said Ken, bringing out a scroll and unraveled it, which soon transformed in to a female puppet with long white hair flowing down her waist and a white robe. She carried a white fan in both her hands and red slashes covered her pale face.

"Meet my new puppet," Ken continued. "Given to me by Lord David himself. Her name is Lunati...and she'll shred you to pieces."

"Lord David?" Randy said to himself. "Could it be...?"

He didn't have time to finish as Ken let his fingers move the strings controlling his puppet, Lunati moving closer and closer to Randy. The tips of the fan grew sharp pointed blades as Randy jumped into the air, hovering there for a few seconds.

_Got to do something soon! _Randy thought as Lunati jumped into the air...soon bringing out two more pairs of hands, each holding a bladed fan. In the moonlight, the puppet of Lunati looked very frightening.

Randy dodged the attacks from the puppet, trying to figure out which spirit out of his 'catalog' for dead spirits to bring out. But right now, the only thing in his mind was the destruction of Lucifer, Bam Neely and Vickie and Chavo Guerrero.

Guerrero....Guerrero!

"Come forth, spirit!" Randy cried out, a white orb shone in front of them all, then a figure appeared, smiling brightly at Randy.

"Hey there." said the spirit, waving a hand. "So what do you want this time?"

"DUCK!" Randy cried as Lunati brought out two fans to slice the spirit with. Fortunately, he ducked in time and kicked the puppet right on the forehead.

"Hi Eddie." said Randy with a weak smile as he floated down to the ground. "Um, listen...before you get mad, I kind of sent your widowed wife and nephew to Oblivion."

"WHAT?!" Eddie cried out. "Why Vickie?"

Ken snarled as Lunati started to charge toward the two. Randy immediately blocked the attacks with his staff as he continued to talk.

"She was trying to summon Lucifer for all things!" The necromancer replied, kicking the puppet away from him. "And he turned my friends into stone! Of course I had to send her there...well technically, it was mom's Black Hole Sphere that did it. Now if you're done talking...HELP!

Eddie grinned as he brought out a sword from mid-air. "Hallelujah!" He said as he started to fight Lunati. "I get to fight such a foxy lady! Thanks, amigo!"

"Does that idiot realize she's not even real?" Ken muttered to himself as Randy summoned ten black magical arrows to attack. Ken ducked just in time as they soon disintegrated. He stared down at the pocket watch that was on the ground: Midnight.

"Let's take this inside the palace!" said Ken, hopping over the gates, Lunati still attacking Eddie. "We need to meet up with some friends of yours."

"You're going down, Ken!" said Randy, as he picked up his belongings and followed his adversary.

"Wait up!" said Eddie, floating toward the group.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

The Dream Circus, in general, was on thin ice, hot water and were in lots of trouble.

Adam and Jay tried their hardest to make an elaborate ghost capturing plan to capture Owen, but he avoided it, and currently the two of them, plus John, were the only ones not locked up in the Treasury and knocked unconscious.

"This is great." said Adam, rolling his eyes. "I hate ghosts."

"Agreed." said Jay as he looked for any signs for the ghost. "Something is totally not right. It's like he's possessed."

"Possessed?" John repeated, the boy's backs against a large window reflecting the moonlight. "How can a ghost be possessed?"

"What about your dad?" asked Adam. John just glared at him.

"COME BACK HERE!" The three turned to see Randy chasing the puppeteer with a white lady and another ghost following them.

"It's time to end this, Ken!" said Randy, bringing out his staff. "No puppets, no spirits...one on one...as it's supposed to be! You win, I go to this Lord David. I win, you become a member of the Dream Circus and tell the rest of the Circus what you know about this Lord David."

Ken smirked. "Deal's a deal." He brought out a scroll, Lunati soon disappearing into it.

"Aww..." Eddie whined as he slowly started to fade. "Well, maybe I'll get to see her again."

"What's going on?" said John, staring at Randy.

"John, you do know what time it is, right?" said the necromancer.

"Yeah, it's....duh!" John said, hitting himself on the head. He closed his eyes as his whole body began to change....Adam and Jay stood in awe as thee was a 6 foot tall John Cena with long flowing silvery hair, a pair of black shorts and golden bracelets on each arm. Silver wolf ears poked from the bed of silver hair, and a pair of fangs grew from his mouth. He also had a lot of muscle on him.

"Oh my god..." said Randy, staring at how handsome John had become. John truly looked like the prince of the Lupins under the moonlight. At that moment, he felt saliva falling down on his mouth.

"I don't even want to ask what's gong on here," said Adam. He then heard something coming close to them. "Jay, John, attack!"

As the three headed toward the ghost, Randy snapped out of his trance and stared at Ken. "Let's begin!"

Ken brought his hands together and formed an orb of yellow energy. He then hurled it at Randy who blocked with his staff. The two then charged toward each other, both of them colliding with their respective magic.

"Game over!" cried Randy.

"You wish!" said Ken.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

"I'm tired." said Jay, as the three were running to follow after Owen. "I want to sit down."

"I'll carry you then," said John, carrying Jay onto his back. Jay couldn't comprehend how strong the Lupin prince had become as he started to run.

"There he is!" said Adam, bringing out his bow and a black feathered arrow topped with a crystal. "After him!"

"STOP!" Owen cried. "Just hear me out."

"Hear you out?" said John. "You locked up the rest of the Circus in the treasury, why should we trust you?"

"Because I've been framed!" Owen yelled out. "I stole the Goblet of Purity, but it wasn't for revenge...they were going to make sure I won't rest, alongside my family." He sighed. "Many years ago, during my brother's coronation, I was upset. No one understood that I found someone stealing the Goblet of Purity from the vault, so I went after him alone. But..."

"Somehow, you fought to the top of the palace, and the thief pushed the Goblet into your hands, thus pushing you off the building and falling to your fate, right?" Jay finished.

Owen nodded his head. "Yes, that's the truth...I'll take you to the Treasury, hurry before..."

"Before I get you!" Adam turned around, firing an arrow at the person, only for the arrow to go through him. In the moonlight, it looked like a shadowy double of Owen, grinning madly at them.

"What the--?" asked Jay as he got off of John. "Who are you?!"

"That's the person who's causing all of this." said Owen, pointing at the doppleganger. "This blue hooded creep used the Goblet of Purity to split my darker half from myself, and he was the one causing all this mess."

"And proud of it!" said the Shadow Owen. "So let's get this party going!" He raised his hands as bolts of black lightning flew from his fingers, striking everyone in the chest.

"Anyone got anything made of rubber?" said Adam, as he shot three arrows at the shadow. It grinned as it incinerated the arrows before they got near him.

"There's only one way to destroy him." said Owen. "You have to use the Goblet of Purity, and pour water from a pure source onto his head."

"I have a vial of water from the McDowell Spring," said Jay, bringing out his Sunny Sphere. "But we need the Goblet....where is it anyway?"

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Randy and Ken stared at each other, both of them panting for breath. Randy brought out a black orb of magic from his staff while Ken brought out a yellow orb created from his hands.

"You're not going to win." Randy said between pants. "You're going to spill the beans on everything that's going on!"

"Never!" Ken said with a smirk. "I will...I will beat you and...and..." Ken paused there. Did it feel right to take the kid to Lord David? Sure, Ken was bitter about not getting telekinetic powers, but Randy lost his mom and his dad had not been seen for years. Ken, on the other hand, ran away from home....did it feel right that he was doing all this crazy stuff for revenge and recognition? He shook away all those thoughts as he hurled his magic orb at his opponent.

Randy immediately jumped and fired the orb at Ken's feet. The puppeteer screamed as he was thrown back a couple of feet, the Goblet of Purity rolling out of his bag. Randy then stood near him, placing the staff on top of his neck.

"Game over." he said. "Now tell me what's going..." He stopped when he saw Adam, Jay and John running toward him, along with a ghost.

"Great." said Ken, picking up the Goblet. "Now what?"

"I'll show you," said the dark Owen as he brought out a black flame in his hands. "I'll burn you all!"

"I command you to stop!" said Ken. "I created you, I can return you to whence you came."

"You did this?!" John said, pointing to Ken. "What were you...hey, that's the Goblet of Purity, right?"

"Yeah, so?" asked Ken with some sarcasm.

"We need it to get this doppleganger off of us!" said Adam, firing three more arrows, only for all three of them to get incinerated. "I'm running out of arrows so we have to finish this fast!"

"You're on your own for that one." said Ken, walking off. "Call me when you really are in trouble."

"Why I ought to--" Jay snarled. "We need that Goblet to get this creepy thing away from us!"

"Not my problem, it's yours." Ken added. Owen just snarled as he grabbed the puppeteer by the collar of his shirt.

"Listen," Owen said, anger in his voice. "You were the one who made this, you will be the one who fixes it. If you don't, then I assure you I'll make your afterlife a living hell."

Ken snarled as he turned to the ghost. "You have no power over me."

John charged up to the doppleganger, slashing at him, while the Shadow Owen tried his hardest to block the attacks. Both of them were under the moonlight, panting, trying to make the next move.

"This does not look good." said Randy. "We need that Goblet and we need a way to keep that guy still."

Suddenly a figure stood behind John, raising a sharp weapon, as if to strike.

"NO!" Randy cried, pushing John out of the way, both of them colliding near the window, and Randy on top of John. The two of them stared into each others' eyes for a while before they stood up, both of them blushing.

Adam and Jay stared at the figure of a woman with long white hair, wearing a white robe with red triangle marks around her face. She was carrying a white paper fan in each hand each tipped with a blade, and her eyes were a fierce red.

"Have a load of this!" said Ken, as he moved his fingers, causing Lunati to move toward the shadowy double. Shadow Owen smirked as he caused black bands to wrap around the puppet.

"Sorry." said the puppeteer with a smirk. "But you're not going to destroy her that easily." Lunati's extra two sets of arms appeared and she grabbed the shadow doppleganger. Ken turned to Randy. "The Goblet!"

The necromancer brought out a hand and the Goblet levitated into the air then flew into Jay's hands. Jay immediately uncorked the vial full of water and poured it into the sacred cup.

"This should bring him down!" said Jay rushing up to the ghost. "And let the power of the Gaea, execute you!" He poured the water into the double, smoke starting to rise from him.

"What are you--" The shadow tried to say, before pain started to erupt from within, in a matter of second he vanished into black particles, his screams echoing into the air.

The real Owen smiled as a warm light started to shine through him. "Thank you." He whispered. "Now I can rest in peace...tell my brother the truth, and tell my mom and dad to place my painting back on the wall...and...and..." He couldn't say the rest as he disappeared, leaving everyone else in awe.

Adam stared back at the full moon shining at him. "Tonight's a lovely night. But..." He turned to Ken. "Why did you come back?"

Ken shrugged his shoulders. "Randy won in a bet we made, and I have to help since I'm a person of my word."

"Thanks anyway." said Jay. "Now we should go to the Treasury and free everyone else."

"Um," said Randy, blushing. "Before we do anything, I have something to say." He turned to John, and stared into his eye. "Listen....I'm sorry for what happened, and none of this would've happened if I wasn't so stubborn. So now, beneath Lunati's light on this Witching Hour, I ask...I ask..." His face started to turn red as he added. "Will you accept a marriage proposal from me on the next Witching Hour?"

"What?!" Adam and Jay said in shock. Ken just rolled his eyes.

John stood flabbergasted. "Um, wow." He said. "That's...shocking. But, I was actually planning on saying that to you...but since you said it first, I guess the only thing I can do is..." He stopped as he pulled Randy close and their lips met.

Ken, despite the cold look on his face, gave a small smile. "The first marriage between a Shade and a Wolf on the next Witching Hour." He muttered. "This will be very exciting." He paused for a second. "When _**is**_ the next Witching Hour?"

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

After finding everyone in the Treasury, the Dream Circus was glad that not only that they found out who was causing the mess, but they ended up getting a new member of the Circus at the same time.

"So you're also from Adagi?" said Molly staring at Ken. "That must be delightful."

"Yeah, I guess it's home." said Ken. "But I also felt a need to...explore, and I was jealous of Randy getting a chance to leave. But since I lost to the bet made in the magic duel, I'm now complied to do a couple of things. First, I now have to join the Dream Circus. And second..."

He had a dark look on his face as he continued. "I have to explain about what you're up against."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Lord David was pissed. Not only did he lose his chance to get the Vessels, he lost one of his best men in the process.

"Stupid law of the Magic Duel." He muttered. "They're going to get to the next Temple in a few days. We must stall for time."

"Which person do you want to send out this time?" said Kevin. "We must choose the right one, or else we'll lose another member."

"What about..." Ariel stopped. "No, not her...she'll screw it up. Him? No....he's already in trouble for that."

Lord David closed his eyes, thinking of all of the candidates he could choose. "What about M?" He said after a while.

"NO!" Ariel screeched out. "Anyone but him! You must be..."

"He is the one we can count on at this point." said Lord David. "Let's just hope he doesn't screw it up by trying to fall in love with the girls instead of vice versa."

"This better work." Kevin muttered under his breath.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 **

With one new member, and the announcement of a marriage proposal in a few months, the Dream Circus all fell asleep. It had been an exhausted evening, and all they wanted to do was sleep in, deciding to deal with the information Ken had with him later in the day.

It was early in the morning when King Bret walked into the throne room, hearing the news from the guards. By around ten in the morning, he immediately sent invitations out to all of Modera, when he stopped at the wall.

"Oh my," he said to himself, as he saw the portrait of his brother Owen finally at its rightful place. A smile crept on the man's face. "Owen, glad you're back."

He walked off, not seeing the ghostly form of Owen smiling at him. "Good bye," He whispered as he vanished into the night.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 **

_What awaits Ken now that he is now in the Dream Circus?_

_What information does he have about Lord David?_

_Who is this 'M' that Lord David is sending after the Dream Circus?_

_And what's with the invitations?_

_All this and more on the next chapter!_

_Read and Review!_


	14. Pavo, The Peacock

_Let's see, we're already on chapter 14! So now, let's wind down._

_Ready? Go!_

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**Masquerade in the Night**

**by Green Phantom Queen**

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**Chapter 14-Pavo, The Peacock**

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By morning, Ken was amazed to see everyone having a nice time at breakfast. He was never used to this type of company, so he didn't know how to react when...

"So, Ken." said Maria. "What do you know about this Lord David?"

Ken nearly spat out the milk he was drinking when he heard that. "Well," he said as everyone was staring at him. "He doesn't show his face, but all I know of him is that he's usually seen wearing this long black coat and has long blonde hair similar to your ringleader. He wants to summon Darkness, but for what reason I don't know. He knows what's going on and the fact that you defeated Lucifer and got Leonard's blessing. What he doesn't know is who the Vessels are."

"And this helps us why?" asked Shannon.

"We have an advantage over him if he can't figure out which member out of the Dream Circus is a Vessel." Ken explained. "And since there are 16 members of the Circus, then there are small chances for each one of us to be a Vessel...all I know is that all 6 Vessels are actually 6 members of this Circus."

"But what's going to happen after that?" said Prince Jeri, clutching his Sphinx cub in his arms.

"That I don't know." Ken replied. "I know that he lives around the region of Nexus, the same place that Darkness fell. That is the same place all 6 Vessels must be in if they want to free Gaea."

"Do we have a deadline for this stuff?" said Adam, in a hint of sarcasm. "Like we have 80 days to travel all of Harmonia before Darkness comes?"

"No," said Ken. "But you want to get a head start before the next agent of Lord David comes in and tries to stop you."

Suddenly, they heard a cooing sound. Everyone looked down to see a peacock stare at them, a letter in its mouth. What was different was that it was a black peacock, with black feathers with pink eye spots on them.

"PINK!" Prince Jeri cried, hiding behind Jay. "Why does everything have to be pink?!"

Ashley pulled out the envelope and opened a letter, which had golden lettering. "Come to the Masquerade that will be held tonight from 8 PM to midnight. Come prepared in your best outfit, and there will be food, music, dance and prizes for the winners of our contests." She read aloud.

"Neat!" said Mickie. "A masquerade!"

"And look at this!" said Jeff, pulling out a second letter that fell to the ground, reading it. "To the Dream Circus," He read. "Due to help shedding light on what really happened, I will allow you to pick out a couple of special items from the Treasury, It is a small token of my appreciation for what you have accomplished."

"A dance and treasure?" said Matt, with a small smile. "This will be a fun night."

"Um, are you all not forgetting something?" asked Gangrel. "We're leaving for Vivace today!"

"Aw, come on." said Brian. "King Bret is holding a masquerade and we're allowed to go into the Treasury. We need a break, Gangrel...we didn't get a lot of rest after being locked in the Treasury last night."

"Can we go then, please?" asked Paul as both jesters gave him sad looks on their faces.

"Yeah come on 'Grel." said Jay. "Let us have one night of fun."

Gangrel started to get pissed off on Jay giving him some sort of nickname, trying his hardest not to give him a punishment like cleaning up the horse stables. After a while he sighed and said, "All right, we'll go to the Masquerade tonight. But first, I want all of the chores done before go anywhere."

"YAY!" Everyone, minus Ken, shouted.

Gangrel brought out a list. "Let's see," He muttered. "So Paul and Brian will take care of cleaning up todays breakfast dishes, the ladies will help put the tent down..." Once he had finished the list, he got up and said, "And speaking of Masquerade...I propose a little challenge."

"Challenge?" asked Randy. "Like what?"

Gangrel grinned at his idea. "We're going to have a contest of our own, and we will try to see which member of the Circus can go the longest without being caught. A Masquerade is to be known for people to become unidentified, and guests try to find out who is under the mask. The ones that I cannot identify do not have to do chores tomorrow."

"I'm in!" said John, his transformation during the Witching Hour died off in the early morning. "This will be so much fun."

"And here is what happens." Gangrel continued. "I will try and find out who is whom in the Masquerade tonight. Anyone who is caught must then help me find out where the other members of the Circus are at. Wigs and makeup or hair colors are allowed, but under no circumstance is magic allowed when you enter the ballroom. And if I am able to identify you correctly, you must remove your mask so I can see your face. If I'm wrong—and I only have three chances to guess your identity—then you are free to leave."

"No chores for a whole day, huh?" said Jeff. "This will be exciting."

"What are we waiting for?" said Ashley. "Let's get these chores done!"

Ken just stared at the black and pink peacock. "Who's bringing the bird back to the palace?" he asked, despite everyone not listening.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

The Dream Circus was already going through their costumes to find anything or everything needed for their costumes for the ball. It was sure to be exciting, plus the money they received from the King for the mission made it more sweeter. Because everyone wasn't allowed to know what they were wearing—but changing their hair style, color, wigs or adding makeup was permitted—then it was permitted to for them to go shopping.

Randy and John were currently in the Treasury of the Hart Palace—the others would come in later—trying to look for something. King Bret made it specifically clear that anything minus the Goblet of Purity and the coins in the room was off limits, but they were allowed to get some of the jewelery there.

"I've got something!" said John, pulling out two rings. One was silver with blue sapphires studding it, the other was also silver but with emeralds.

"Wow..." Randy whispered. "These are going to be our engagement rings, right?"

John nodded his head. "Yep!" He said, grabbing Randy's hand. "And in three months time, we'll be married..." He then placed the sapphire ring on Randy's ring finger. "Sapphires make you more radiant...after all the sapphire is the birthstone for April...and we were born on that month."

"And I joined the Circus on my birthday." Randy murmured, recalling the day Gangrel came on his horse-drawn cart and asked him to come with him. "The emeralds on your ring must remind you of the forest..." He gingerly placed the emerald ring on John's finger.

John soon gave Randy a bone-crushing hug. "If I had to, I would want nothing more than to be by your side forever more." He whispered. "I acted so carefree, so innocent, all to hide my true feelings for you...not realizing how much you had to go through...my life was my own little Masquerade."

"Stop it," said Randy. "Don't say such mushy stuff like this. No seriously, there are guards outside hearing this."

John released the hug, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "You're right, and we need to get those costumes ready. But that doesn't mean I'm telling you what I'm doing."

Randy smiled. "Wouldn't have it any other way."

It took them only a few minutes—and a couple of questions and answers—until the made it out of the palace and met up with everyone at the famous costume shop in Twili. It was a beautiful building with the door having two harlequin masks on the front and the inside had many costumes, accessories, masks. It was known as the _Hall of Masques _and due to the invitations, there were more people than usual trying to find the best costumes that were there.

Randy was currently in the wig section, trying to find something that could hide his hair from the rest of the crowd. That's when he found it, a wig of silver long hair, reminding him of John's transformation to his true form. He immediately grabbed that and placed it on is head. Seeing himself in the nearby mirrors, he nearly gasped when gazed into his reflection; it didn't seem like himself at all.

John was trying on hundreds of outfits, but none of them seemed to fit with his cape. He then paused for a minute; if he used his new cape, then people would immediately find out who he was. He then placed his cape in a bag and immediately found an outfit similar to a warlock's...an idea came to his mind as he immediately grabbed for it.

"Hey." John turned around and saw a teenager with brown spiky hair—too small for a mohawk, but not enough to cover his head—dressed in a grey shirt that had the yin-yang symbol on it and black pants which also had the same symbol on each leg, although both were consume with flames. A smug grin was on his face though.

"Hey!" said John with a smile. "So you're also going to the Masquerade, right? I'm John by the way."

"The name's Mike." The other boy said as the two shook hands. "I saw you a couple of night's ago when you performed. You're the aerial silk acrobat, right?"

"Yeah." said John, as the two walked to the mask aisle, many masquerade and carnival masks were peering down at them. "I may not look like it but I have a lot of strength from training I did in my youth." He stopped and found a black mask on a pole, the mask had golden swirls decorating around the forehead and eyes, and it also three black feathers at the bridge of the nose. Grabbing it, he stared at Mike's attire.

"So, you're going to be doing a yin-yang thing?" asked John, placing the mask in his bag.

Mike shrugged. "Not sure, actually." He replied. "But I heard there's a contest being held at the Masquerade...it's supposed to be a scavenger hunt and the winner gets 200 Clefas."

"Sweet!" said John. "I'll notify the rest of the Circus and tell them about it!"

"Hey John!" John turned around to see Ashley, Mickie and Maria coming up to them. "So this where you were!" said Maria, giving the aerial silk performer a hug.

"And it looks like you got your costume ready." said Mickie, seeing his shopping bag. "So what are you going to be?"

"I can't tell." said John, waving his hand in front of his face. "But if you can't see me at the Masquerade, then I know it's working." The girls just laughed at him.

"Hey," said Mike, coming up to Ashley. "What do you say we go out and have some fun around town?"

Ashley looked at him for a minute. "Um...I'd love to...but I have to go back and meet up with everyone else at the Dream Circus." She then walked off with the other three members of the Circus, leaving Mike behind.

"So, Ash," asked Mickie as the four were heading to the cashier. "What was Mike asking you?"

"Something about going out for a date." She muttered. "But he wasn't my type anyway."

Mike only stood there, anger boiling in him as heard Ashley say those words. A dark aura was surrounding him as he pulled out a small purple orb.

"This is M," He whispered to it. "This just got personal."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Gangrel was already trying out his outfit: a blue-green suit and pants and a dark blue mask that was covered in peacock feathers covering his eyes. A pair of white gloves covered his hands and a cape patterned to look like peacock feathers was on his shoulders. He also had a blue tailored coat fastened with golden buttons and black dress shoes were on his feet.

"Excellent," He said as he saw himself through the mirror. "I look...I look..."

Suddenly he gripped his head and closed his eyes. He gasped for breath as some sort of memory came into his mind.

_The older boy stared at Lestat, dressed in a blue-green suit and peacock feathered mask. "You look very nice in that outfit, Lestat." He said._

_The young boy smiled. "Yeah!" said Lestat, gazing into the older boy's eyes. "This is the outfit that I'm going to wear when we make the circus. I'll be...I'll be..." Lestat paused for a minute, trying to gather his thoughts. "I'll be known as The Druid!"_

"_'The Druid?'" asked the older boy. "But druids are associated with trees, not birds."_

_"Then maybe I'll be a Bird Druid, because birds live in trees! The peacock is known to be the king of birds...isn't that right?"_ Lestat questioned.

"_King of birds...that sounds interesting."_

Lestat smiled at the answer. _"So, who are you going to be, David?" _

Gangrel opened his eyes, finding the voices had stopped. But the last sentence echoed in his head. David...who was this David? It couldn't have been him, could it? He stared into the mirror, trying to see if anything out of the ordinary was there...but there wasn't. He shrugged his shoulders, grabbing a blue ribbon to wrap around his hair into a small ponytail

"Perfect," he murmured. "This should do it."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

It was late at night when people started to head into the palace, music floated into the hallways along with the aroma of food that was being served. The ballroom was already overflowed with many people dancing away, all of them in fancy clothing and masks. Everyone was having a good time, laughing away and looking at the lists they were given for the Scavenger Hunt. Children were laughing and giggling away, all playing a game of "Masquerade Tag" where they tried to grab each others masks.

Matt and Jeff were already eating hors deurves: jalapeno poppers, tuna tartar and marinated olives were on their plates. Matt was dress in a black shirt and pants, with a red star in the middle of his shirt and red flames on his pants while his eyes were covered by a black mask with three feathers on the side—the middle feather being red and the top and bottom ones being black—while there was red tips at the end of his black hair. What made him really freaky was the red wing design creeping onto the arms as if they were made out of blood.

Jeff's outfit was a mirror image of his brother's, except wherever there was red there was black and vice versa. He had died his hair bright red and the tips of his hair was dyed black. His face was covered in black make up with red stripes going down his cheeks and lips. He swallowed a jalapeno popper while many of the girls stared at him.

"Um," Jeff said, staring at them. "What is it?"

"It's just that," said one of the girls. "We found one of items on the Scavenger Hunt list!" She showed it to Jeff: next to a check mark the sentence read "Two people wearing the same outfit but with alternate coloring."

"What are the chances of that?" said Matt.

"So now," said another girl, handing Jeff a sugar egg. "Will you accept this gift?"

"Candy!" said Jeff as his hand inched out to get it. Unfortunately he was beaten by Matt. "Hey!" Jeff cried out. "Give that back!"

"Do forgive me ladies," said Matt. "But me and my brother must talk in private." He grabbed Jeff—whose hand was clenched onto his platter of food—and brought him to one of the balconies.

"What was that for?" Jeff said in loud whisper.

Matt looked back at the ballroom, then turned back to Jeff. "If Gangrel was there and saw you eat that sweet, he'd knew instantly that was you." He explained. "So for tonight, I'm you and you're me. That means, you cannot have any candy...or else I'll feed you Whispering Fate nectar mouth-to-mouth for the whole ballroom to see."

Jeff gulped, imagining the scene of Matt giving him his medicine through a kiss. A red tinge was on his face as he shook his head. "All right." He said. "Eat all the candy you want."

"Sweet." said Matt, biting through the sugar egg.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 **

Ashley, Mickie and Maria were chatting lightly while eating. Cucumber rolls, stuffed mushrooms and tapernade topped crackers were on their plates. They were talking about the excitement on Randy and John's sacred wedding that would happen in three month's time.

"This will be so exciting!" squealed Maria, eating a small cucumber roll. She was dressed in an elaborate array of colors: she was wearing a dress that was bright red with orange and yellow gems decorating the bottom, and was wearing an emerald necklace around her neck. Her mask was a bright shade of robin egg's blue with purple lines decorating around her eyes. Instead of many feathers, she only had three feathers on the left side of her mask that were colored like the rainbow. "I wonder what it's going to be like?"

"Not sure." said Mickie, rubbing her eyes behind her purple mask. It was decorated with golden swirls while it had three feathers on the right side: one green, one yellow and one purple. Her dress was a beautiful shade of purple with a green sash wrapped around her waist and she had a necklace of gold around her neck. She also had green, purple and yellow face paint swirling around her left cheek. What was also interesting was that her hair was split into the same three colors. "But whatever happens, I hope they'll be happy."

"They better be." said Ashley, staring at the dancers waltzing around the ballroom. She ran her hand through her blonde hair which parted with some black star hairpins. Her dress was a dark black, decorated with glitter to make it look like stars. She had a pair of crystal earrings in the shape of stars and her mask was a dark black that a white star on the middle of her forehead. She even had a ring on her right hand that had a star sapphire on it. "After all of this Darkness thing is done, we need to be happy."

"Really now?" The girls turned around and saw Gangrel dressed in his peacock inspired outfit, a smirk was on his face. "So let's see..."

He pointed a finger at Ashley. "Ashley Massaro." He said, while Ashley removed her mask.

He then pointed at Maria. "Maria." Maria sighed removing her mask.

"Mickie James." Mickie groaned as she removed her mask. Gangrel smirked as he found three of his Circus members in front of him.

"You know the rules." He said. "So put your masks back on and help me find the others."

"Can we at least finish our food first?" Maria begged, showing her plate full our food.

Gangrel pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fine," He muttered. "But as soon as you're done, you're going to help me find the boys."

The girls nodded their heads before swallowing any leftover appetizers on their plates.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Randy was standing at one of the corners of the ballroom, a plate of pita chips and watercress dip in his hand. His silver wig fell down his waist and pair of wolf ears were on top of it. A white tuxedo and pants draped his body and it was accented with gold thread. He even had a long silver fox tail and a white mask that was accented with golden spirals covering his eyes. Munching on a chip, he looked around, waiting for someone.

"Excuse me," a voice said, as Randy lifted his head. The necromancer's eyes widened as he saw the person: It was someone dressed in a black wizard robe decorated with silver smoke with a black witch cape draping down their shoulders. Along with the sword that was in its sheath, the person was grasping a black mask attached to a wooden pole which had golden swirls and three black feathers on the bridge of the nose. "I'm sorry, are you waiting for someone?" The person asked.

"Um, I..." Randy tried to say something, but he couldn't keep his eyes off that person...his mind suddenly became blank as he fell into the arms of the stranger while his plate of food clattered onto the ground. The man smirked as he carried him away.

"There, there." The man whispered. "Once I take care of you, then you can just forget...and know what it is like to work for the darkness."

As he left, John immediately ran to that spot, wearing a prince's outfit that was half black and half white. His mask was also half black and half white with he was also wearing a pair of yin-yang contacts.

"Darn it," said John, rubbing the back of his head. "I accidentally took Mike's clothes and he took mine. And I told Randy to wait for me here....and Mike said he'd wait to get our clothes exchanged...wonder where they are?"

"Are you that dense?" John turned around to the person saying that. He was wearing a blue prince's outfit with a silver rapier at the side and a blue cape. The person had a blue mask covering his face with a silver music staff filled with notes floating around the eyes and forehead. "Someone took him away; that person might've been sent by Lord David!"

"Ken?" John asked at the person. "What's going on?"

Ken grabbed John's hand and whispered into his ear, "That Mike guy you met at the Costume Shop? His real name is Mike Mizanin, although he's mostly known as 'The Miz'. He has similar powers to mine...but while I can turn people into puppets, Miz can charm people and make them fall in love with him...and the worst part? He's got Randy...if you don't save him soon, Randy will be a pawn for Lord David to use."

John immediately grabbed Ken's arm. "Lead me to this Miz."

Ken smirked. "You have no idea how much I want to punch that guy." He smirked. "But we need some reinforcements."

"Excuse me?" Ken and John turned to see Prince Jeri and Molly stare at them. Prince Jeri was wearing a white tunic with a golden belt wrapped around his waist and sandals. He also had a golden collar wrapped around his neck and kohl—an eyeliner made out of minerals—around his eyes. Some sort of golden burial mask was in front of his face while his cat ears were twitching at the vibrations all around them. "Is something wrong?"

"We heard some sort of commotion." said Molly. She was dressed in a simple yellow dress with white lace at the end of her sleeves and at the dress itself. Even though she still had her feline features—like her paws and tail—she also had a yellow mask covering her eyes that was surrounded with golden glitter. "Is something the matter?"

Ken brought out a scroll containing his Lunati puppet. "Let's head outside the ballroom." He said. "You'll find the answer to your question there."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Adam and Jay were currently working on the Scavenger Hunt; both twins looked at the list and found that they only needed one more item on the list. Despite the fact that the instructions said that the winners would be the ones who could find the majority of the list—since there were high chances that everything couldn't be found—the hunt encouraged that if all items were found, a special

"Let's see," said Adam. "The only thing we need is the person that represents balance."

"We've gone through everyone in the ballroom, Adam." said Jay, staring at the list. "What are the chances for finding someone like that?"

"How about finding out that we were items on the scavenger hunt." said Adam, staring at his outfit. He was dressed in a green shirt and pants with a cape patterned like leaves. He even had a crown that had emeralds circling around his head along with an oak longbow and quiver of arrows. His mask was a shamrock green with the edges of the mask being a bright yellow.

"Yeah," said Jay, recalling the memory. "The minute we entered the ballroom, we were immediately bombarded by girls. To think we were able to get some of the last outfits in the store." As he said that he stared at his costume: a blue prince's top and puffy pants that went past his knees, along with a pair of brown dress shoes on top of his feet. His long blonde hair was put into a ponytail while his eyes were covered with a blue mask that was decorated with silver glitter at the side and three blue feathers on each side.

"Adam. Jay." The twins looked at where the voice was coming from, gulping to see Gangrel and the divas staring at them. "Take off your masks."

The twins groaned and removed their masks...it was also at that time that they saw Ken, Prince Jeri, Molly and John running out of the ballroom; they were mostly paying attention to John's yin-yang inspired outfit though.

Adam stared at his list. "Wow, that's everything." He muttered.

"Really?" said Ashley, staring at the list. "Damn, you guys are good."

"They're thieves, Ash." said Maria. "Thieves need to know their surroundings, so it's easy for them!"

"Wish they were there before Gangrel found us out though," Mickie muttered under her breath.

"We don't mind," said Adam. "It was either get caught, or lose our chance to get 200 clefas. Pick your poison."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

"Ouch!" said Brian as Paul stepped on his foot. "Watch where you're going, your boot just stepped on mine!" He stared at his partner: Paul was wearing a black diamond patterned jester outfit, and a jester hat with one branch of the hat being black, the other white. The tips of the branches had a white diamond or a black diamond on it while his mask was completely black with a white diamond in the middle that was covering his face.

"It's not my fault that you don't have rhythm." Paul whispered as the two were waltzing around the dance floor. As the two danced to the beat of the music Paul gazed through Brian's attire: A white tuxedo, with the back of the coat having three red slashes at the back along with black dress shoes. His blonde hair was combed and had the scent of honeysuckle while his white mask covered the upper half of his face, three red slashes decorating it. "But you also smell nice."

"Really, now?" asked Brian as the two spun to the beat, their fingers laced together. "How about we kiss?" Paul just smirked as the two kissed, their bodies leaning against each other, feeling each other's warmth.

"Um, guys?" A voice said. They ignored it as they wrapped their arms around each other's waist, while Paul gave a small trail of kisses down Brian's neck.

"HEY!" Paul and Brian stopped and looked at Shannon...or at least his attire. Shannon had a purple/black prince outfit with black puffy pants lined with gold. What was also strange was that his shoulders and sleeves had small spikes on them, and to make it even stranger, the purple mask covering his eyes had black ovals surrounding the eye holes and a line going through them. There were even black and white feathers going on top of his head, making it look like some sort of mohawk.

"Guys," said Shannon, pinching the bridge of his nose. "The music has stopped, you're in the middle of the dance floor...and people are staring at you."

Paul and Brian shot glances at everyone who were just either staring at them or whispering to each other. Some of children were peeking through the small sea of dancers, trying to see what was going on. The jesters soon ran through the crowd while Shannon just sighed once more.

"I'm surrounded by idiots." He muttered to himself. He pushed through the crowd and sighed, running a hand through his hair. Grabbing a glass of punch, he was about to drink it when he saw the reflection of someone in the drink. He was about to say it was John—remembering seeing the Lupin prince getting that costume, but noticed his eyes.

"Sorry." said Shannon as he whirled around, pouring his glass of punch into the man's eyes and punched the person right in the face, causing his mask to fly off. It fell to the ground as the person tried to wipe his eyes off the punch with his hand. Shannon smirked as fangs grew from his teeth and grabbed the man's wrist.

"Night night." He said, biting into the wrist, the person couldn't say anything as he started to feel drowsy and fell asleep. Shannon removed the fangs and returned to getting a fresh glass of punch when Ken walked up to him.

"Did you just beat him?" He asked. "That guy was 'M', one of Lord David's agents." Shannon shrugged his shoulders as he drank a glass of punch.

"So?" He asked, grabbing a stuffed mushroom and munching on it. "I sensed he was bad and gave him what he deserved. On the upside, I injected a venom into his bloodstream that'll make him unconscious for a couple of hours. I won't kill him unless Gangrel decides what to do with him."

Ken just stared at him. "What kind of freaks do you have in that Circus?"

Shannon immediately whipped his head at Ken, his eyes starting to glow in anger. "Take that back." Shannon snarled. "We're not freaks, we're human beings. For me to be called a freak is the last straw!"

"What is your deal?" asked Ken as he placed Mike in an upright position near a wall.

"My deal?" Shannon repeated. "Before the Circus came around, there was a demon snake known as "The Killer" which was killing people left and right. I was able to tame it, and she bit me...only now I've realized that her venom mixed with my bloodstream, thus I'm able to grow snake scales, inject venom and have a craving for mice every now and then. But that's not the point; the point is that after that incident, people called me a Snake lover and bullies would pick on me because of that. One day, one obnoxious brat called me a freak...it was so bad that I killed him with a deadly venom that came from my body. I guess you can say that after that, I blocked out all the memories of me having this power..."

"So, one day about two or three years ago, Gangrel waltzes in and takes me in as a part of the Circus. And after so many years, I made friends..." Shannon smiled sadly at the memory that passed in his mind. "And then when we fought Leonard, everything came back...sure it's coming back in pieces but..."

"I understand." said Ken. "Sorry about that whole 'freak' comment."

Shannon smiled at him. "None taken." He then stared at Mike's sleeping form. "So, what's going on with this guy?"

"He has a special ability known as Charm." Ken explained. "He was going to make Randy join Lord David, but thanks to the combined efforts of John, Prince Jeri, Molly and me, we were able to break the trance from Randy before anything bad could happen. You should've seen it; Molly got really pissed and brought out at least 10 daggers from her purse and pinned the guy to the wall and threatened to kill him if he didn't go silently. Then John—from out of nowhere—brings out a strand of silk and wraps Mike's wrists together and Jeri has a sword with him to slice him into pieces! Then Mike disappears, while John slaps Randy silly to get him out of his trance."

"And you asked us about what type of people we have in our Circus." said Shannon, rolling his eyes.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

It was soon midnight, and people were soon traveling back to their respective homes. Fortunately for the Circus, the animals were in good shape thanks to the maids and servants taking care of them, and everyone felt a bit richer from the experience....particularly because Adam and Jay got 200 clefas from the Scavenger Hunt.

"So," said Gangrel, once everyone was in the Circus tent. "The only ones not doing chores are Ken, Prince Jeri, John, Molly, Shannon, Randy, Paul and Brian. Everyone else has to do chores."

"Finally, a break." said Shannon. "And it keeps Jeff from gorging on candy."

"Hey!" Jeff cried out. "That's mean!"

"Speaking of mean," said Randy, staring at Mike's body. "What do we do with him?"

"I say we give him a truth serum." said Maria. "I'll brew one right now!"

"I say we hang him from the trapeze." Ashley suggested.

"No! We can feed him to the sphinxes!" said Adam. Stryker, who was on his shoulder, mewed in agreement.

"We'll wake him up and make him give information on this Lord David." said Gangrel, placing a hand on Mike's forehead. "If he's in league with this man, then we'll get some information out of him." A soft light blue glow soon came from his hand as Mike's eyes fluttered open.

"Man...what happened?" He asked as he stared into the eyes of the 16 members of the Dream Circus. "Ah, crap..."

"Hi Mike." said Ken, staring at the boy. "How you doing?"

"You!" Mike said, standing up and pointing a finger at the puppeteer. "What the hell are you doing siding with these guys?!"

"I lost a magic duel, and had to abide with the deal that was made prior to it." said Ken. "And whatever is said before the magic duel starts is law. A Shade who dishonors that very promise is said to be stripped of his magic power, and I intend to make sure I have all of it when I fight that bastard. Besides, you know the reason I went to Lord David; what's yours?"

"Because I was bored." said Mike. "Yeah, things get boring and when a person gets bored, they'd do anything to have a thrill."

"And you think charming a boy with your magic is fun?" asked John. "You're lucky you're not dead yet."

"You know," said Brian. "I know what we can do with him."

"And what's that?" asked Paul.

"We'll ask him to join the Circus." asked Brian.

"WHAT?!" Everyone yelled at him.

"Are you crazy?!" asked Matt. "Last thing we need is this guy charming the divas and making them his personal harem!"

"Don't worry!" said Maria, bringing out her Rain Bow Staff. "If he tries to make us his harem..." Her staff soon transformed into a glass mace shimmering in many colors of the rainbow. "I'll just smash this in front of his face!"

"Um," said Molly, pushing Maria away. "No violence, please."

"Can he charm animals though?" asked Prince Jeri, Lestat in his arms. "I don't want him to hurt my friend."

"Don't worry," said Matt. "If he tries to hurt Lestat, Jeff and I will burn his skin off."

"Not that point!" said Jay. "The more agents of Lord David in our grasp, the more information they'll give up on Lord David, and the more we'll be more prepared for him."

"Look." said Mike, turning away. "Thanks for your little offer...but I'm better alone. Later." He soon walked off, his back to the whole Circus.

Shannon stared at him. "Hey!" He cried out. "If you ever want to find us, we'll be heading to Vivace!"

"Shush!" Everyone said to Shannon.

"I'm just saying." He replied.

"Well," said Gangrel. "It's midnight. Time for bed."

"Yeah," said Paul, stretching his arms. "I need to hit the hay early."

"What for?" Shannon teased. "So you and Brian can have some time playing tonsil hockey?"

For that Shannon got tackled by both Brian and Paul.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

In Vivace, a young girl was cowering in an abandoned house. She whimpered as someone started to beat her with a baseball bat.

"You stupid piece of shit," The person whispered in her ear. "You don't deserve to live!"

The girl shrieked a bit as the bat hit her arms. Then a sickening blow hit her back as she yelled louder. She then heard the bat fall with a clatter as she was yanked onto her feet by her long chestnut hair.

"Any last words?" The person said, as they brought a switchblade near her throat.

The only thing the girl could do was scream.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Around 6 in the morning, the Masquerade Circus started to pack everything up into the chests, hauling them into the horse drawn carriage or placing any small items into sacks to carry on their journey. Gangrel was staring at the map heading to Vivace before clicking his teeth.

"This is exciting." said Prince Jeri. "We're almost to the next Temple."

"At the rate we're going we'll be there by sunset tomorrow!" Molly cried. "I hope it's not too cold."

Ken was currently seated with Randy on the black panther. "You know, speaking of Vivace, I heard that there was some kind of siren there."

"A siren?" asked Maria. "What she like?"

Ken shrugged is shoulders. "Not sure, but I hear that anyone who hears their song never comes back alive...and that her voice is only heard at night."

"We'll have nothing to worry about," said Jay. "I mean, what could possibly go wrong?"

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

_Who was the young girl being attacked?_

_And what about the siren?_

_Will Mike join the Circus?_

_And what could possibly go wrong?_

_All this and more in chapter 15!_

_Until then, read and review!_


	15. Apus, The Bird of Paradise

_Masquerade! Paper faces on parade! Masquerade, hide your face so the world will never find you!_

_But for us, our masquerade continues onto chapter 15! So..._

_On with the show!_

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

**Masquerade in the Night**

**by Green Phantom Queen**

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

**Chapter 15-Apus, The Bird of Paradise**

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"We'll have nothing to worry about." said Adam. "Nothing can possibly go wrong. You and your big mouth, Jay!"

"How was I supposed to know it would lead to this?" asked Jay, seeing their surroundings. Inside the haunted house they were in, the divas were knocked unconscious, Brian was dodging energy blasts, Paul was using limb replication to grab any projectiles heading their way, John was covering his ears and howling in pain, Randy was frantically reading through his spell book, Ken was trying to fight back Dusk with his Lunati puppet, Prince Jeri and Molly were throwing knives and any sharp projectiles they could find, both Hardy brothers were trying to calm down a fire that was going to burn the house down if it wasn't put out, and Shannon was trying his hardest to stop her...the one who was causing this mess.

"Nothing can possibly go wrong." Adam repeated, as the twins looked at their surroundings. "What the hell were you thinking?!"

"It's not _**my**_ fault we got into this mess." said Jay. "How did we get into this mess again?"

Adam just slapped his forehead before dragging it down his face.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 **

To get a better understanding of what's going on, we have to turn the clocks back around 14 hours ago.

The Dream Circus had finally reached the small village of Vivace, a small village of stone cottages, thatched roofs and young children playing around. In the daytime that is.

It was 8 in the morning when the Circus found the silence of the whole town dispersed into the air. The villagers stared at the group as if they had some sort of weird disease on them, and even the dogs running around didn't want to go near them.

"What's going on here?" asked Prince Jeri, rubbing his eyes. A shrill shriek from far away soon caught his attention. Everyone stared at the direction it was coming from as birds started to fly away from the village, and past the Dream Circus until the flapping of the wings could not be heard.

"The shriek!" One of the women cried. "Someone will die tonight!" Whispers soon came from everyone in the village, some speaking in softer voices than others. The Dream Circus stared in confusion at the scene.

"Okay," said Adam. "I think we've entered crazy town. What is going on here?"

"The siren." an elder woman gasped out. "For the past month, we have been plagued by a siren who lures men into her abode and they are found dead by morning. It is said that the cause of all of this is on that house..." She pointed a bony finger at a house that was seen farther upon the village. From the looks of it, there were dead trees and it looked scary from a distance.

"This could all just be a misunderstanding." said Jay. "You might just be freaking out over nothing."

It was at that moment that glowing orbs started to appear from the water fountain in the center of town, then shimmering into globules of light while a sweet music floated into the air.

"You were saying?" asked Ashley as the rest of the Circus stared at Jay.

"Either way, we need groceries." said Gangrel. "We'll rest here and head to the Pagliacchi Mountains in the afternoon. Due to the weather, it'll be time for..."

"Dragon Fire Stew!" Jeff cried out, letting out a squeal of joy. "I haven't had it in months!"

"Nothing like a bowl of that to keep you warm on cold nights." said Shannon, recalling a winter not long ago. "But we need lots of ingredients, and Vivace is known for having lots of chili peppers."

"I thought chili peppers were mostly found in Sol." said Molly. "So why can't we just get them in Sol?"

"Because while Sol has the perfect temperature to grow them, they are usually sent in pods to Twili because of the sunlight." Maria explained. "The sunlight there helps them grow into their perfect states. Any leftover chili peppers in Sol are used for themselves and are crushed into oil or become dried or roasted. In Twili, they have the fresh peppers we need to make the recipe."

"And the spices, and the meat for them." said John, looking at their groceries. "We're running low."

"That's impossible!" said Paul. "Brian and I bought enough groceries back in Alle to last two weeks!"

"It's because of all of the people that have been added to the Circus." Randy muttered under his breath. "That means we need more groceries to feed them....but that is the life of Circus."

"We're also running out of food for the animals." said Matt, counting inventory. "We need to buy groceries now."

"Well, at least we'll get something out of this." said Mickie, getting off of her gryphon and turning to the villagers. "May we go and purchase some of your fresh produce?"

"And hay?" asked Jeff as some of the horses snorted in approval.

"I don't see why not," a young woman replied. "We haven't had guests in a while..." She then lowered her voice. "But be warned, when there is no more sunlight, one of you may no longer be alive."

As soon as she said that, everyone in the village started to run back into their houses, leaving the Circus to stare at them in shock or surprise.

"This is a weird place." said Ken.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Lunch time soon came to the Circus. After getting enough provisions to survive a couple of days—plus some time in the Pagliacchi Mountains—they had settled down to eat. Although, some were more calm than others. Amongst the trees surrounding the tiny village, the shade was nice to relax and lay upon instead of the hot summer sky.

"Did you hear something?" asked John, turning toward the village. "I thought I heard someone crying."

"You must be hearing stuff, John." said Prince Jeri. "I would've known if something was coming."

Suddenly a faint rustling sound was heard. Everyone then turned to where it was coming from.

"Something's here!" Prince Jeri screamed, hiding behind Molly. "Make it go away."

Stryker pointed at the direction of the sound, growling. Adam noticed this and started to go toward the bush.

"Um, don't be afraid." said Adam, inching closer and closer to whomever was causing the noise. "No one's going to hurt you..." He pushed the bushes out of the way and gasped in surprise...instead of an animal like a rabbit or deer, it was a young girl—possibly around 13—with long curly brown hair and dark skin staring at them with wide brown eyes. From the looks of her clothes—which were dirtied and tattered, parts of it unable to be mended no matter how many times it could be sewn—she had been treated badly and was living in the streets for some time. She trembled a bit as she started to crawl backwards from Adam.

"It's okay," said Jay, coming up to her, bringing out his hand. "Are you hungry? Are you lost? What's your name?"

Adam jabbed his twin brother's ribs with his elbow. "Shush! You're scaring her."

The girl brought her finger to the dirt, drawing ten lines to reveal her name.

"E-V-E...So your name is Eve." said Adam while the girl nodded her head. "That's a nice name."

Eve looked away, her stomach starting to growl. She soon stood up, and turned away as if she was trying to leave.

"Don't leave." said Jay. "Have some food if you want." He brought out a small bowl of chicken curry, the delicious food being topped with green onions.

"When it comes to food, Matt and Jeff can whip up something to fill you until dinner." said Randy, taking a spoonful of curry and rice into his mouth. "Of course, they're all spicy and have peppers lodged into them...but it's still good food."

"What about the fish?" asked Molly, wiping her mouth with a napkin. "It's a good thing we could preserve its freshness...or else we'd be smelling something awful."

Eve brought her arm out, her fingers delicately taking the spoon and placing it in her mouth. She closed her eyes, letting the smooth taste of the curry and small grains of rice wrap around her tongue. She smiled as the food fell down into her stomach.

"She likes it!" said Brian. "Can we keep her?"

"She's a human being, not a pet." Paul hissed. "She must have some sort of family."

At the sound of the word 'family', Eve dropped the spoon from her mouth, the utensil falling into the dust. She started to tremble again and slowly turned around, running away into the forest as if she was a deer caught in the headlights.

"Something's wrong with that girl." said Matt.

"Maybe she forgot to do some shopping." Jeff replied, swallowing the last of his curry.

"I doubt it," said Shannon. "I don't think it's the shopping...I think something is wrong in her family."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Ken, working on a puppet he had on hand. "She seems fine."

"No she doesn't," said Gangrel. "I agree with Shannon...either they're in debt.....or this Eve is being abused."

"Maybe she lost someone to the siren." Mickie mused, recalling the story they heard earlier. "And she's afraid of speaking because the siren might kill one of us..."

"Please don't mention that." said Ashley, clutching her stomach. "I'll throw up if I hear stuff like that during lunch."

"Either way," Maria muttered under his breath. "There's something about this siren which is causing everyone in Vivace to freak out."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Night soon fell in the Circus; the young teenagers were tired from training and practicing new acts for their next act in Geb, along with creating sleeping quarters for everyone to sleep in. Everyone was asleep, sprawled out in their sleeping bags and blankets dreaming away of a new adventure over the horizon...or at least try to not dream of the siren in their heads.

Gangrel was the last to fall asleep, thinking of something. For the last couple of days, memories and thoughts had been swirling his mind...a boy named Lestat, another boy named David, and an old nursery rhyme concerning the 6 Guardians of Gaea. Why were they coming to him now? And what did they have in connection to him? He tried to think of any and all solutions to these questions, but nothing came up.

Slowly, his eyes started to close and he fell into slumber. The wind started to blow softly with a musical chime, gently lulling the ringmaster to wake up. Gangrel's eyes slowly became a glassy grey as he removed the comforters on top of him and started to walk away to wherever the sound was coming from, his eyes opened at half mast.

Stryker and Lestat—who were asleep by the other Sphinxes—opened their eyes, and saw the silhouette of Gangrel leaving. Stryker immediately went to Adam and started licking him across the face.

"John," Adam mumbled in his sleep. "Stop licking me, it's Randy you want, not me." Stryker saw this then immediately bit his ear, causing him to wake up.

"OUCH!" Adam yelled, waking everyone up around him. "What the hell was that for, Stryker?"

Lestat bit on Prince Jeri's sleeve with teeth as the cat prince noticed something missing. "Where's Gangrel?"

Molly rubbed her eyes with a paw as her ears twitched. "I hear something in the wind tonight....it must be the siren!"

"The siren?!" Everyone else cried out.

"Gangrel must've been taken away by her!" Jeff cried out. "He's going to die! I don't want him to die!"

Matt grabbed onto his brother's shoulders, shaking him slightly. "Listen to me, Jeff!" He said. "Gangrel is not dead! He can't die!"

"If he did, then Dusk would die also." Randy muttered under his breath.

"Dusk?" asked Ken, not understanding what was going on. "Who's Dusk?"

"Long story short," Ashley explained. "Dusk is the child of Darkness and Gaea: the Guardian of Harmonia itself. Then it wen berserk and was sent into the lands of Harmonia...but 8 years ago, he was shown destroying a village."

"But the problem is that there are two people that are making us nervous." Shannon added." First is Lestat, a young boy who was shown to look similar to Dusk. Second was the boy known as David Heath, who looked a lot like Gangrel. Dusk is inside Gangrel's soul...but the question is how the heck he's there, why the heck he's there and what really happened all those years ago."

"We don't know what's going on. But right now, we don't have time to." said Brian, grabbing his black Balance Rod. "We've got a father to find."

"Then let's go." said Maria, bringing out her Rain Bow Staff. "We'll ride on the animals to get there..it's faster and easier then running."

Lestat got into Prince Jeri's arms, quivering in fear and meowing sadly. Stryker went onto Jay's shoulder and also trembled in fear.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 **

"Well," said Paul, getting off of his cloud chariot. "This is it. The house upon the hill."

The rest of the Dream Circus got off their rides, each of them wielding a weapon in their hand—whether they be spheres, swords, staffs, daggers, books, puppets, or the like—and gulped. The front yard was dead and dry, a lone swing attached to a tree was swinging slowly, wilted roses were at the windowsill and the creaking of a door repeatedly banging was in front of their eyes.

What was the worse thing that could happen? Well, it was midnight...and at midnight, it was always the worse time to go into a haunted house in order to find someone who had somehow wandered himself into the damn place.

Maria brought out a bobby pin that was in her hair and jimmied the lock to the gate. The black iron gate opened, squeaking open as they entered.

"Don't worry, Terrah." said Adam, patting her head. The white sphinx started to tremble at the sight of the house. "It's going to be fine. Now stay here with the rest of the animals...we'd take you along, but the house looks like it could collapse any minute.

Randy double checked the collars and leashes of the animals, making sure they were secure. "Everything's fine," He muttered. "Let's go."

By the time all 15 teenagers went past the gate, it slammed shut. Some of them screamed in surprise, grabbing to the other members of the Circus.

"Make it go away, Randy!" John whimpered, and gripping onto the necromancer. "It's scary!"

"Lestat and Stryker feel it too." Molly whispered. "Something's not right here."

"I feel like I want to get out of this place." Jeff cried, hugging his brother in a death grip. "I don't want to be here!"

"Snap out of it!" Ken snapped at them. "If we don't do something, we're going to lose Gangrel...and I don't think you'd like that, right?" Everyone shook their heads. "Good, now let's get going."

"John," asked Mickie. "Can you transform into a wolf and check to see if anything could be inside?"

"Why me?" John whined. Everyone stared at him. "All right," he sighed as he transformed into a wolf in front of their eyes. Even then he was still trembling. He placed is nose to the ground, walking on all fours and stepped up the porch and walked inside the house with the rest of the Circus following them. It was not only dusty, but furniture was covered in white tarps, plus there were cobwebs everywhere.

"Maybe we should split into groups." Paul suggested. "Brian, Ashley, Maria and I will check out the front yard and the porch for anything suspicious."

"Great idea!" said Mickie. "I'll go with Matt, Jeff and Shannon to check out the first floor and garden and see if we find anything."

"Guess Jay, Prince Jeri, Molly and I will check out the second floor and the bedrooms." said Adam, as he stared into one of the windows.

"So that leaves me with John and Randy." said Ken. "And we're off to the basement, then."

"But how do we communicate with each other then?" asked Shannon.

"With these." said Ashley, bringing out three golden butterfly clips from her pocket.

"Um," said Prince Jeri, picking one up. "I don't mind jewelery but..."

"They're like communication devices." said Ashley as Randy put one on his cloak; Matt did the same thing by placing onto his shirt. "Maria made these and said it would be in handy if we're ever in in a situation like this."

"It's a good time to use it, I guess." Brian muttered under his breath.

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"This place is giving me the willies." said Brian, as he looked around the lone swing. "I've read enough horror stories to know that things will definitely go wrong when..."

"Oof!" said Paul tripping over something in the grass and falling flat on his face. "I think I found something.

The four veteran performers soon started to dig at the mound, trying to find something that could help in their quest in finding out what was going on. What they discovered, well....

"OH MY GOD!" Ashley cried out, her shrill voice most likely awakening the villagers of Vivace from their slumber. After removing the dirt from the mound they had unfortunately discovered that they had dug at least 6 feet into the ground to find the rotting remains of a young girl. The skin was rotted around her legs arms and ribcage...there were insects eating her flesh, the hair was messed up and part of her skull was seen. What was left of her was that she was wearing a light blue dress and a bouquet of dead flowers was in her hands.

"Quick!" said Maria. "Pour the dirt back in! If we don't, then we'll all be cursed!" She immediately started kicking dirt into the grave in a panicked rush.

"Who the hell is that?" asked Paul. "There's no grave marker on it, and no sign anywhere that tells who residence this is. Maybe...just maybe..."

Brian pressed onto the golden butterfly hair clip that he had put in his hair—just for safe keeping of course. "Matt, Randy, Prince Jeri...we got something."

"I'm reading you." said Randy, his voice loud and clear from the communicator.

"What's going on?" Prince Jeri's voice said, alongside Randy's.

"You got a lead on who's haunting the place?" asked Matt.

"Well," said Maria, kicking some more dirt. "We've found a dead girl's body buried in the front yard. Does that help?"

"Disgusting!"

"Gross!"

"Wrong!"

All three of those voices chimed at that while Brian was wincing and covering his ears.

"It doesn't have a headstone, so we don't know the name of the person." said Ashley, leaning to the butterfly pin. "So try and find some information on it...and quick."

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"Got it." said Matt as he was searching through the garden of dead flowers. Throwing the poor wilted azaleas and pansies to the ground, he stopped and found something. "Um, guys..."

Shannon came up to him as Matt pulled out the item; an old and dirty music box. "It looks really pretty....but what could be inside it?"

Matt shrugged his shoulders and lifted the lid; instead of a cute tune and a little dancer, there was nothing except a faded picture. There were two young girls there, one with long blonde hair, the other with curly brown hair; both of them had big smiles on their faces.

"This must be Eve," said Matt, pointing to the girl on the right. "But who's the girl on the left?"

"Matt!" cried Jeff as he and Mickie came toward him. "We found something! We found something!"

Mickie showed the other two boys a small bracelet in one hand and three brown bottles in another. "This bracelet must belong to the girl that was buried in the yard. And these bottles..." she crinkled her nose at the smell. "Is full of alcohol..."

"There's a name on this bracelet." said Jeff. "It says 'Jillian'."

"Um, Jeff." said Matt, flipping the photo to the back, pointing to a name. "That's Lillian. LILLIAN?!"

Shannon pressed the hair clip "Guys! We found something...there was a blonde haired girl named Lillian that lived here!"

"It would explain the blonde hair on our corpse." said Maria.

"And the names of all the songs littered in the bedroom." said Molly.

"Plus all of these crossstitching that's been found in the basement." said John. He then sneezed.

"We also found alcohol bottles. A lot of them." Mickie added. "From the looks of it, I think this Lillian had an alcoholic mother or father."

"And that Lillian was Eve's older sister." Matt added.

"From the looks of it, Lillian died a couple of years ago. And then there was the abusive father or mo..."

"OH MY GOD!" Jeff cried out. "Oh my god...."

Matt—with one finger still pressed onto the little pin—stared at what Jeff was screaming at. There was a dead man poking in the high blades of grass not far from them. His face was bashed in—his nose busted and there were some teeth that were missing—lots of blood was covering him, many wounds as if a blade struck through him and his fingers were smashed by what looked like either a metal baseball bat or a lead pipe. There were flies swarming around him, the smell of blood was in their noses, and Shannon freaked out.

"WE'RE STANDING IN THE GARDEN WITH A DEAD GUY!!!!!!" Was Shannon's cry which was louder than Ashley's shrill minutes ago.

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"You know, we could have heard it without the hair pin, Matt." said Jay as soon as the echo died. "But who was it?"

"I think it was the father." said Mickie through the communicator. "There's brown hair on his head...or at least what's left of it. Do we have anything about the mom?"

"Got something." Ken voiced out. "I found an old painting...woman around her 20's, long blonde hair and beautiful smile."

"That must be the mom." said Ashley. "We found a small shoe box filled with pictures of her. There's no sign of her body or anything else...but we're working on finding anything around the porch."

"Right. Keep in touch." Jay replied removing his finger from the pin from Prince Jeri's hat.

Adam was looking at the remains of the bedroom they were in...music note wallpaper that was faded and peeling away, two beds and a couple of stuffed animals were strewn apart. In his hands was a bundle of paper. "Apparently, the girls loved music."

"You're right," said Molly. "I see a toy xylophone, and a music box plus a scholarship to a music academy in Aero."

Stryker and Lestat tugged on one of the blankets on the bed, but with the force they tugged it with the large piece of cloth fell on top of them. They both meowed in confusion.

"Look at this!" said Jay, picking up a small book. "It must be a journal. But it's locked."

Hearing his thoughts, Stryker and Lestat lept onto the bed and grabbed the book from Jay's hands. They then tried to pick it open with a claw while Jay was trying to figure out how they could understand human thought.

"Oh, I see." said Jay, pulling out his Spell Key. "Spell Keys also work on other items, and they don't wear out easily. Thank goodness for that." The two kittens stepped back as the teeth to the key got into the keyhole. With a twist to the left, the diary opened.

"I can't believe this." said Adam, reading the letter in Molly's hands. "Apparently Lillian was accepted to go to the prestigious University of Performance in the kingdom of Aero. She must've been really good to get there."

"And look at this!" said Jay. "I found a diary!"

"And I found a photo album!" Prince Jeri added, carrying the heavy book in his arms.

The four spent some time reading everything that was in there, while Stryker and Lestat were both asleep. The four could only gasp in shock at all of the stuff that was depicted in the photos and how it contrasted with the things written in the journal.

Adam pressed onto the hairpin. "This is Adam." He said to it. "We've got something."

"What's up?" asked Brian.

"Apparently Lillian was a very good singer because she got a scholarship to the University of Performance in Aero." The lion tamer explained. "We found a photo album and her journal...apparently Lillian and Eve were happy when their mom was around...but after that, the dad was an alcoholic."

"And let me guess, he became an abusive alcoholic." Ken added once Adam was done.

"Exactly." Adam replied. "Apparently Lillian died on the day she got her scholarship because there aren't any entries after the date she got the letter."

"So he killed her in other words." That was Randy's reply.

"But then who killed the dad?" Jeff replied. "I'd asked Shannon that question but..." It was then they heard a retching sound.

"TMI, Jeff." said Paul. "But we did dig up a couple more boxes. They're either time capsules or Jillian was trying to preserve all of her stuff from her abusive father. And Ken, what do you have on your line?"

"Nothing." said Ken from the butterfly pin. "Aside from everything we just stated a couple of minutes ago."

"I hear something." said John, his ears perking up. "It's very faint, but it's singing...and it's in the attic."

"Great." Randy moaned, sitting down. "What's next? We're face to face with the siren and find out that it's actually Eve?"

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

"Me and my big mouth," said Randy when the 15 members of the Circus, plus the small kittens Stryker and Lestat, finally made it to the attic. The wind started to blow harsh, and the wood was rotting.

"You!" Jay pointed a small light orb to Eve. "There you are!"

Eve trembled at the light, her eyes showing the deer in the headlights look. She trembled in fear and tried to hid behind the boxes that laid in the attic.

"After her!" said Adam as they started to go after her. Unfortunately the wood started to creak around them.

"STOP!" Jay said, but it was too late. The wood started to creak...and then everyone started to fall. Eve screamed in terror, her sound waves breaking the walls in the second floor and everyone landed with a thud.

"Ouch." said Molly. She then saw Eve running away. "Let's get her!"

Everyone soon chased her down the stairs, and down into the basement, their yells to get her and the pounding of their feet soon echoed in the old building. Eve eventually tripped and fell onto the basement, cowering in fear.

"Where's Gangrel?" Shannon said as he got closer to her. Eve trembled as she was brought onto her feet.

"You have to tell us." said Mickie. "Where is he?" Eve started to cry as she tried to wrench away from Matt and Jeff's grip.

"We need to know." said Randy, as he stared into her eyes. "Where is he?"

Eve didn't say anything, but she screamed. The force of the scream caused the divas to ram into a couple of boxes and accidentally caused a lit lantern to fall, the small flame starting to grow. John howled in pain as everyone else covered their ears.

"FIRE!" Jeff cried as he and Matt immediately went to calm it down, dropping Eve onto the ground. He turned to the others. "We'll take care of the fire, find Gangrel!"

"Go away!" She cried out. "Just go away!"

Ken immediately turn around, barely missing an attack from Gangrel. His eyes were a pale grey as the puppeteer started to sweat a bit.

"Oh, crap." he said as he brought out the scroll for his Lunati puppet. It unraveled as the white haired woman and her bladed fans came out. Strings wrapped around Ken's fingers as the puppet blocked the attacks.

"Now tell us," said Shannon to Eve. "What's going on." Eve kept her mouth tight as she tried to push away from the snake charmer's grip.

Prince Jeri put Stryker and Lestat down and pulled out his sword while Molly brought out a couple of darts—each designed like mice and the tails being the blades—and rushed to aid Ken.

Gangrel saw this and smirked as a black aura covered him, and in his place was Dusk with his wings outstretched. Dusk had an evil grin on his face and the flickering flames in the background made him even more menacing.

"Why are you trying to torment this young girl?" Dusk asked in a soft and calm voice. "She's had a bad life, and you're making it worse. I had one too...and I'll make sure your lives become more tragic than hers!"

"Not good, not good!" said Brian as Dusk immediately brought out a barrage of small black orbs at him. His black feathered wings came out as he swooped into the air. Paul concentrated as a wall of hands surrounded the divas, John and Randy and captured the orbs.

"We're doomed!" Paul cried out.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

"And that's how we got into this situation." Adam explained to Jay.

"Now I remember!" He replied. "Now what do we do?!"

Adam brought out his bow and arrow. "Jay, do you still have your light orbs from Adagi?"

"Um, yeah?" the younger twin replied.

"What about a Song Sphere?"

Jay brought out the music related Sphere and one of his light orbs.

"Heads up!" Adam said as he released an arrow to the wall of hands that Paul made, it pierced through with ease.

"Watch it!" Paul said to the older blonde as Adam and Jay made it through the wall.

John opened his eyes as he heard his surroundings. "What's going on?"

"Dusk." Adam and Jay said simultaneously. It was then that the divas started to wake up.

"Did you say Dusk?" asked Maria. "That doesn't sound good."

"What do we do now?" asked Randy as he was pouring through his book. "If I use a spell, the fire that Matt and Jeff are calming down will burn us all!

Ashley and Mickie brought out their staffs as Maria was handed the two items from Jay.

"What do we do now?" asked Mickie.

"Maria will fuse those." Adam explained. "Then we'll put the fused item into Eve while the rest of distract Dusk. If Eve is talented in music then maybe she'll sing a lullaby to cause Dusk to fall sleep."

"Great idea!" said Ashley. "Let's distract that child!"

Adam jumped from the wall and charged toward Eve. Dusk turned around and a pair of shadowy hands grabbed onto the lion tamer's legs.

"Shadow that bind, trap that boy but not his kind!" Randy chanted as chains started to bind the young boy. He struggled but he couldn't get through.

"Get him!" said Ashley as she, Mickie and John joined the rest of the ones who was attacking Dusk. Maria fused the two items together, creating a glowing orb—around the size of a Volleyball—that had many music notes shining in many colors. She followed her friends to where Dusk was.

"The fire's gone!" Jeff sighed in happiness. He turned around to see Dusk being attacked and pinned down. "Oh god..."

"STOP IT!" Dusk cried out, tears falling from his eyes. "Why..." His sadness turned to anger. "You're just like the ones who hurt Daddy...you bullies!" A black aura surrounded him and everyone within its radius got forced back into the walls of the basement by a strange forcefield and knocking them unconscious...

Everyone except Eve, who trembled in fear as Dusk removed the chains from his body, that smile still on his face.

"Don't worry," said Dusk, walking closer to her. "They won't harm you again, I can be your guardian."

Even with those assuring words, Eve sensed that something was wrong with him. That's when she noticed a floating orb roll towards her feet. She stared at it and picked it up.

"How can you be a guardian, if you can't protect yourself?" Dusk turned around to see Maria standing up, grinning. He stared at shock at what looked like her unconscious body, only for it to return into rainbow paint. It then swirled back into the staff while Maria just gave a sweet smile.

"Paul!" She cried out, "I'd like a helping hand! Or maybe ten!" an arm grabbed onto her own hand and then many arms soon connected to that, with the last hand connecting to the orb and pressing near Eve's stomach. Eve's body began to glow in a pure light as music notes started to circle around her.

"What trickery is this?!" Dusk hissed out as the light eventually died down. He then turned to Maria, the hands that grabbed onto her had vanished. "You'll be the first to die of that pathetic circus."

"Kill me first!" Dusk turned around, only to get a punch to the face. The figure who punched him stepped out of the shadows; it was Mike.

"Mike?!" Maria screeched out. "What are you doing here?"

Mike just smiled at her. "I'm taking up your offer." He then brought out a shield with the yin-yang symbol covering the metal body and spikes around the shield. "Take this you creep!" He was about to raise the razor-sharp saucer when a hand stopped him.

"Let me take care of this," said Eve, surprising the only conscious teenagers at that time. "I know what to do."

She clasped her hands together and closed her eyes. Inhaling, she let out a soft note and a small ball of light rose into the air. Dusk looked at this marvel as more notes and orbs began to float around him. Eve continued to sing as Dusk's eyes started to become heavy. He started to yawn and close his eyes and sat down, asleep.

"That's so beautiful," Maria whispered. In a burst of light Dusk soon transformed back to the missing ringmaster, still asleep.

Mike went to Eve as she just sat down in relief. "You okay?"

Eve then nodded her head before she wrapped her arms around him and cried.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Everyone soon woke up from the painful shock that went through their bodies...but they had to admit that it was less painful from what Dusk did days ago.

"Sorry about being so rough on you," said Ashley, giving Eve a small hug. "But we were pretty worried about our ringleader. Because well..."

"He's possessed by the child of Darkness and Gaea and nearly tried to kill us a couple of days ago." John finished, still in his wolf form.

"You can talk?!" Mike exclaimed when he saw the wolf.

"Oh, hi Mike!" John said through his wolf's mouth. "I guess I didn't tell you that I'm not really John Cena, but my real name is Johan, the Lupin Price."

"Y-yeah..." said Mike. "That's so interesting..." He immediately fainted onto the floor with a thud.

"He's cute though," said Eve, petting John's head and feeling his silvery fur. It was then Randy noticed something peculiar about her.

"Um, miss?" he asked as he placed his hand on top of hers. "I think I found out what was going on." He then walked back, his had still in the position...only to reveal that he was pulling something out.

"Oh my god." Mickie whispered when they saw who it was...a young girl dressed in a light blue dress with long blonde hair and a sweet smile...Lillian.

Lillian opened her eyes and turned to see everyone. "Where am I?"

"I get it now!" said Adam, slamming his fist into his palm. "When Lillian died part of her soul must have resided in Eve. But Eve didn't know that so soon enough Lillian came out, possessed her and killed her father in the backyard."

"That's not the real story." said Eve. Everyone looked at her, as if she was crazy, as the girl grasped her sister's hands. "I did it...well I indirectly did it...but I think with my sister's soul inside me, maybe the sound of our voices combined made it sound like a siren...and we might've told our dad to die..."

"That'd his state right now." said Shannon, remembering the look on the corpse.

"I'm truly sorry if I caused all this suffering," said Lillian, bowing her head. "My daddy became abusive, and I died days before I could leave this wretched place forever."

"But what about Eve?" asked Jeff. "If you left, then Eve would be the one who would take all the punishment that son of a bitch had to give."

"It's okay," said Eve with a soft smile. "I'll be alright. I kept quiet that whole day because of what would happen if people found out that I killed my father...even with all of that stuff he did, he was my only family left."

"He can't be family if he abuses his child." said Matt. "But...he was the one who protected you and made sure you had a home and all that, it's twisted, but what could you do?"

"True," said Lillian. She smiled at her sister, releasing her hands. "I must go now, but if you ever need someone to talk to...I'll listen. I'm truly sorry for everything I've caused, do forgive me."

Eve let a small tear from her eye as the two embraced, Lillian disintegrating into small sparkles of light...

"That's so beautiful." said Ken, a tear falling down his eye. When everyone stared at him, he immediately looked away.

"So what do we do now?" asked Jay. Stryker and Lestat also mewed to ask what next.

That's when Gangrel started to wake up, He yawned, covering his mouth as he did. "Man, what happened here?" He asked. "Last thing I remembered was a voice, and someone telling me their story...then a scream."

"Oh, I know what happened!" Said Eve. "I was singing to myself, you must've heard it and heard my story. Then you..." Brian and Paul immediately covered her mouth.

"You fell asleep in the basement because you were tired and then you asked Eve to sing you a lullaby." Paul finished. "And then since you were asleep all of us came to make sure you were all right."

"And you are!" Brian finished. "Now let's get back to the tents, the animals must be worried."

"You left the animals collared and leashed near a haunted house like this?!" Gangrel yelled at Brian. "How dare you!"

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

After getting everyone back into the tent—and apologizing to the villagers for causing them to wake up—the Dream Circus was finally able to relax.

"A toast!" said Prince Jeri as the teenage members of the Dream Circus raised goblets of Fairy Cider into the air. "To Mike and Eve; the newest members!"

"To Mike and Eve!" They cried, clinking their glasses and sipping down the drink.

Gangrel spied at them, chuckling to himself as he headed to sleep. But as he was going to his blankets, he saw something strange in the mirror. He quickly unbuttoned his shirt and made a quick—but messy—ponytail. Lifting it up, he positioned another mirror so he could see the back of his head.

On the back of his neck, the wing design was slowly creeping up to the hairline, and the design was already on his shoulders.

All the while Dusk was staring in delight and giggling. It would only be a matter of time...

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_With two new members, how will the Dream Circus fare in their travels?_

_What awaits them over the tops of the Pagliacchi Mountains?_

_Does Lord David have anything planned for these heroes?_

_And what is the real story behind Dusk?_

_All this and more in the next chapter!_

_Read and Review!_


	16. Vulpecula, The Fox

_All right, let's head off! We're almost at the second Temple and on our way to possibly one-third of the story done._

_So what awaits our Circus? Read and find out!_

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**Masquerade in the Night**

**by Green Phantom Queen**

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**Chapter 16-Vulpecula, The Fox**

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"This is crazy!" said Mike, as the Dream Circus was eating breakfast. "Gangrel was...is Dusk?"

"Shush!" said Ashley while Gangrel was talking to Adam and Jay. "Gangrel doesn't know that...and we want to keep it that way."

"Can we just tell this man—who gave us all new lives—that the child of Darkness and Gaea is in him?!" Maria hissed. "It'd break his heart, or maybe make him go insane. Either way..."

"So that's why you I was shushed last night." said Eve, drinking her glass of orange juice. "But then..."

"Before you answer that," Brian interrupted. "About that rumor, did you really kill anyone else in the village?"

Eve shook her head. "Of course not. You know those old crones; they just jump to conclusions without truly thinking up what's going on. I mean...there were some other deaths, but it wasn't related to me."

"We believe you." said Jeff, patting her head. "That explains a lot." He then turned to Mike. "But why the sudden change of heart?"

Mike stared at them seriously. "I don't have a home. My mom and dad got divorced and then dad died and mom...who cares? So I lived in the streets for a while and Lord David came and bailed me from misery. I was given an amulet that gave me the 'Charm' ability and it gave me the power I have right now. I..." He let out a sigh. "When I saw all of you at the Masquerade, I was jealous. And then instead of punishing me, some of you decided to take me in. No one, not even Lord David gave me that hospitality. That guy gave me a home but then treated me like dirt, punishing me for just simple mistakes...."

"You must've had it bad." said John. "And yet you disguised it with that aloof style...."

"Bad?" Mike repeated. "This Lord David is nuts! He sometimes gets these crazy nightmares about some kind of...some kind of fire and attack, something with the destruction of a village known as Symphonia..."

Prince Jeri nearly dropped the bottle of milk he was using to feed Lestat. "What did you say?"

"I said 'something with the destruction of a village known as Symphonia.'" said Mike. "Don't tell me...something to do with Dusk?"

"It is, and it's very important." Molly explained. "It was said that Dusk killed the village...but it couldn't have been him if he has been stuck in Gangrel's soul."

"Don't try to think about it so much." said Eve, wiping her mouth with her napkin. "If you do then it'll just eat away from you..."

"How can we think about it when the guy's inside him and just eating away from Gangrel's soul?" Ken muttered.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

The Dream Circus was on the road hours later, walking down the dirt path heading up to the Pagliacchi Mountains. The sun was shining and everything seemed perfect as the road merged into the path that would be taken to reach the mountains.

"It's cold." Eve whispered, while she and Mike were riding on one of the tigers....or something similar to it as its fur was a shade of black and its stripes was white. Mike saw this and placed his fur coat on her.

"Take it." he said. "You need it more than me. He then sneezed.

"You'll get sick, though." said Eve. She then placed the coat around them both as they continued to climb the path.

"I hope we get to the top of the mountain by nightfall." said Maria. "Because then all of us have to huddle in the cold air and we might freeze to death like him..."

"Him?" asked John, his wolf ears perking up. "Who's 'him'?"

"It's an old legend I heard," said Maria as everyone was walking down the chilling path. "You see, many years ago...there was a family—a mother, a father, and a little boy. They were also trying to get to Geb and meet up with their relatives, but an avalanche came in, and covered the three in snow. The mother and father survived...but the boy didn't. The parents struggled to find their son...but they could never find him."

"To this day, people who come up here sometimes here a voice saying 'It's so cold...I'm so cold...'. The little boy comes around and steals the blankets of unsuspecting victims that sleep in the mountains, trying to save himself...some say he's trying to reunite with his parents...but if you ever get on his bad side...you'll die in your sleep while your body freezes to death."

Most of the Circus members gulped as they continued to walk toward the snowy peaks.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

After hours of traveling through the snow, the Dream Circus was finally able to have dinner. They were only a few hours away from the Temple of Light, but because it was nearly evening, it was a good idea to just sleep in the cold then freeze to death from traveling.

Matt let out a small fireball from his mouth which touched the logs and started to crackle with life. Jeff placed more logs into the fire as everyone was given a small bowl of soup.

"It tastes so good," said Adam, scooping up a spoonful of the soup. He immediately swallowed the food and felt the warmth spread through his body. "IT IS!" He cried out...which echoed through the mountains.

"Shush!" said Jay, covering his brother's mouth. "Do you want to cause an avalanche and trap us here like the little boy?"

"Don't worry." said Randy, gulping down a cup of hot cocoa. "If a ghost was here, then I'd see him."

"Did you see him?" Jeff asked wearily, hiding behind his brother.

Randy shook his head. "Nah, he's not here. If he was, then we'd be in trouble..."

"Or we could try giving him some soup." Gangrel muttered under his breath. He closed his eyes, nearly dropping the bowl of soup in his hand as something formed in his mind.

_Is it gone? _Said Lestat, quivering under his blanket.

_It is. But if it ever tries to scare us, just use this._ David brought out a small pendant that had a glass diamond hanging at the end and placed it around the younger boy's neck. _It's a magic charm that'll scare the demons and monsters away!_

_Really?_

A nod. _Would I ever lie to you, Lestat?_

_Never! My big brother David would never lie to me!_

David just patted his head. _Good boy._

Gangrel opened his eyes, staring at the bowl of soup in shock. Big brother? So was Lestat his younger brother? No...it couldn't be. He couldn't understand all these memories that were swimming in his head and the voices that accompanied them. He knew that the both battle against Lord David and the race to get the Guardians were important....but all of these things that were attacking him....why were they?

"I still think something's going to haunt us." said Matt as he munched on a chili pepper. "Even if we find that Temple, how do we know how to unlock it?"

"We have the Orb of Dawn," said Ashley, picking up the glass orb. It was around the size of a grapefruit—the color of one also—and it was shimmering with light. "Sarah said we'd need it to unlock the Temple...but how?"

"Maybe we can think better once we sleep on it." said Adam, resting his head against Terrah's fur. The sphinx just licked Adam's face lovingly. "Good night everyone."

"Not so fast." said Mickie, pulling his hair. "We have to clean all of these dishes."

"How the hell are we supposed to do that?" Adam snapped at her. "There's no water around here!"

Jeff's hands suddenly became lit with fire as he pressed against a snow bank. A trickle of water appeared and fell onto a basin below it, slowly filling it up.

"Never mind." he said as he got his utensils.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

It was around 6 AM in the morning when Paul London somehow woke up from his slumber. Something nudged against his face as his eyes saw a cute little white fox in front of him. It licked his face as Paul stretched his arms.

"Hi there," he said, petting the little kit. The fox yipped and panted, his small pink tongue sticking out of his partially opened mouth. It then stared at a burlap sack where a small light was radiating and dashed toward it. It then grabbed the bag by its teeth and ran off, the sack dragging against the ground.

"Hey!" Paul said, grabbing a fur coat to wrap himself in. "Come back here!"

The fox didn't pay attention as it continued to run with the bag all the way down the trail. Paul continued to race toward it, ignoring the numbing feeling of the cold hitting his body by the time he reached the little pup. The fox dropped the bag, the Orb of Dawn rolling out of the sack and shining with beautiful light.

Paul picked it up. "Bad boy," he said, shaking a finger at it. "How dare you try to steal something important."

It was then that the sun started to rise into the sky; the Orb of Dawn in Paul's hands started to glow brightly as a low rumbling sound started to shake the mountain. The white jester turned around and gasped in surprise.

The Temple of Light was in front of him.

Sparkling in the early sunlight, the temple decorated in white marble and gold—similar to the Hart palace and the Recorder Archives—stood perfectly amongst the snow. Paul slowly walked up the steps, the Orb of Light in his hands and the little fox following him. When he finally got to the top of the steps, he was amazed to see two white stone foxes facing each other. Continuing his trek, he immediately found a small marble pedestal in the center of the Temple—the walls of the Temple itself had the carvings of a two men amongst the snow, wrapped in an embrace and kissing.

Paul decided not to ask any questions.

The small fox immediately tugged on Paul's pants, trying to drag him to the pedestal. He was about to object, but then noticed the heads of the stone foxes turn to him and glare at him; it didn't take him long to run all the way to the small stone column.

When he immediately was at the pedestal, the small fox removed its grip on the pants. It gave out a small bark and sat down, its tail wagging in excitement.

"Here goes." Paul said, placing the Orb on the pedestal. The minute it touched the stone and left his hands, the Orb of Dawn started to shine brightly while it started to levitate in mid-air. Light began to pour into his body as the small fox lept into his hands. It was then that the images on the walls started to move.

"What the..." He whispered to himself.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

In the Kingdom of Noir, Batista brought in the remains of a giant serpent onto the ground. He stared at the man who asked him for the pelt: a young man in his 20's with paper-white skin and long black hair with a black cloak decorating his body and wielding a black paper umbrella in his hand, shading him from the sunlight.

"I've got what you want," the monster hunter replied. "Now, pay up."

The man brought out a small sack of coins and tossed it onto the ground. Surrounding the two were the black trees of the Chopi Woods with hundreds of ravens cawing amongst the branches.

Batista glared at the man. "Leonard, enough with the disguise."

Leonard smirked as the disguise started to disintegrate, revealing the blonde haired Guardian of Shadow in front of him.

"I knew you'd figure it out." The Guardian smirked, his black mask covering his blind eyes. "I need to talk to you about my Vessel...and Vega's."

"Vega's Vessel has been found?" Batista murmured. "Interesting."

"It's because those two boys are princes." Leonard explained, plucking a feather from his cape. It then transformed into a black mirror, showing a painting of two young boys. The most interesting thing was that they were opposites: one boy was wearing white, tan skin and black hair, while the other was wearing black, had light skin and blonde hair. "Princes of an ancient clan of Night walkers."

Batista's eyes widened as he nearly dropped his crossbow. "You don't mean..."

Leonard nodded. "When their family finds them, the combined forces from the Vessels of Light and Shadow will awaken their powers. Whether it will be a gift or curse, I do not know. But when it comes to the Dimni clan, I just hope things will go all right."

"And the serpent?" asked Batista, pushing the corpse of the huge snake closer to Leonard with his foot.

Leonard whistled as a couple of ravens started to fly into the sky. They then dove onto the carcass and started to peck at it. In a matter of minutes, all of the snake scales had been scattered like confetti onto the ground, the eyes and fangs still intact.

"The scales, fangs and eyes were to be used in a potion." The Guardian explained while the ravens were gobbling down any meat that was there. "The rest was for my beloved birds." A raven soon flew onto his shoulder and cawed.

"I rather not ask." Batista said, seeing the stomach of the snake be ripped apart.

"Once Vega gives the blessing, I will use the ingredients to create a potion, so I can travel to see my friend." said Leonard amongst the feast of the ravens. "The Dimni will want to meet up with their lost family members again, and we must be careful because they are _**very**_ protective of their kin."

Batista stared at Khan, the black horse snorting in approval. He then stared at Leonard. "I'm going with you." He said. "I owe that Circus for helping me realize the truth."

Leonard smirked. "I knew you'd say that."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 **

Jay slowly woke up, feeling a few snowflakes falling down his face. He pushed off the warm sheets off of him and look around. Everyone else was fast asleep: The divas asleep together, Prince Jeri and Molly asleep by themselves, Randy laying his head on John's wolf body while Ken slept away from them, Mike and Eve asleep under a warm fur coat, Matt sleeping with Jeff and Shannon under the covers and Gangrel was snoring softly against the snow. Adam was asleep against Terrah, Stryker and Lestat cuddled near him.

The younger twin turned to his right, seeing Brian asleep, in a black feathery cocoon. But then he noticed an empty space where Paul was supposed to be.

"Oh god..." Jay whispered as he shook his brother awake. "Adam, wake up! Wake up!"

"Wha--?" said Adam, rubbing his eyes. "What's going on?"

Jay pointed to the spot where Paul was supposed to be. "Paul's gone missing..." He then pointed to the bag of supplies. "And so is the bag containing the Orb of Dawn."

"No wonder it seemed darker today." Adam muttered. "That thing is a freaking night light. But does that mean..."

"I don't know." Jay said, standing up. "We should get going."

Adam nodded as the two soon wrapped a warm coat around their bodies. Grabbing their weapons, they quietly left the campsite and were about to head up to the top of the mountain. But before they could leave, someone tapped Adam's shoulder.

Adam turned around to see Prince Jeri, Molly, Mike, Eve, Ken and Brian all bundled up. "Um, what are you doing?"

"We're going to find Paul, of course!" said Molly. "We wanted to help you find Paul in the Temple."

"And also because we've never encountered a Guardian before." said Ken. "You were the newest members of the Dream Circus before all of us came along, so you know something about the Guardians."

"And I can't lose Paul!" said Brian. "He's my best friend and I want to be with him...the two of us have a special bond."

"It's okay if you're gay and you're in love with him." Mike said, patting him on the back. "If you love this best friend of yours, just tell him that." Everyone soon stepped away from Mike. "What did I say?"

"Um, let's just head up to the top of the mountain." said Eve, slowly walking away from Mike.

"I don't get what he said though," said Prince Jeri while Molly pushed him away.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

The eight Circus members walked to the top of the mountain, slowly taking in the white marble Temple that was in front of them all. A gust of icy wind blew through them as they started to stepped toward the marble edifice.

"I'm cold, Molly." Prince Jeri whined, as he hugged his best friend.

"We should've asked Matt and Jeff to help us." said Ken.

"But Jeff's hyper attitude would've caused us a lot of trouble." said Jay. "So we have to improvise on what we have."

Molly brought out her mice darts, each of them having grey fur, pink ears, black eyes, and pink tails that were the blades themselves. "What do we do when we get to the Temple?" she asked.

"Inside the Temple is the Relic of the Vessel." Adam explained. "We don't know what it is, but once we find it, we destroy it. Then, we find the Soul Doll that hosts the soul of the Vessel and return it to him. Finally, the Guardian will give us the blessing and the mark of the Guardian will be shown, plus the Vessel will be given special powers."

"So that's how Brian got those wings," said Eve, staring at the black feathery appendages. "They look pretty on him."

The eight finally made it inside the Temple, feeling a calm wave of warmth wash over them. Peeling off their fur coats, they immediately found a white caped figure wielding a white staff with a bat encrusted on it staring at one of the walls. What was interesting was his long black hair, similar to...

"Paul!" said Brian, rushing toward his friend. "There you..." He stopped when the white jester turned around to reveal his outfit: a white coat fastened with gold buttons and long sleeves, wearing a white mask that covered his eyes which had a white feather on the side. In his gloved hands was a small white fox which was asleep.

"What happened to you?" the Vessel of Shadow whispered as he saw a slight cold smirk from Paul's lips appeared.

"Nothing much," Paul said, turning around, his footsteps echoing against the marble floor. "I was just viewing the morning snow." He brought out a gloved hand, showing a large snowflake crystal in front of everyone. "Each one is a thing of beauty, no two are the same...and they are the most perfect things I have ever seen." He glared at his friends. "But as for all of you, all I see are ugly, wretched and twisted souls. None of you are perfect for I, Michael the Vessel of Vega, to see. Get out of my sight!"

Brian was petrified; he could only stand there as he saw the harsh words escape his beloved friend's lips. "No..." He was able to say. "No, this can't be!"

"It is." said Paul, stroking the fur of the small fox in his arms. "Now leave, before I freeze you like the little boy."

Ken brought out two scrolls: one white and one black. "I don't think so." He said. The scrolls exploded in a puff of smoke, until they were transformed into two young boys: one wearing a white cloak and had black hair, the other wearing a black cloak and had blonde hair but both of them had opposite colored wings. "Meet my little friends: the black one is Ebony, the white one is Ivory. And unlike most puppets, they have feelings...and you just broke them."

Brian stared at the two puppets...something in them produced a memory...a woman in a black cloak carrying a baby in her hands, running away from hunters...he couldn't say anything as he turned back to see Paul glaring at them.

The two puppets each carried a lance while Ken manipulated the strings attached to them. The puppets charged up to Paul, trying to pierce their weapons into his flesh. The Latino smirked as the the two soon were caught in a icy prison. Ken snarled, trying to pull his puppets out of the ice, but it was no use.

"The winter time can be so beautiful," Paul whispered, as orbs of snow started to move within his hands. "But they also can cause death when the body temperature of an ugly human drops."

"Who are you calling ugly?!" Mike cried out. "I'll show you who's ugly!"

"And what can you do?" Paul asked sarcastically. "You have no talent, except for charming girls that don't even like you."

"He's got a point, unfortunately." said Eve.

"Then take this!" said Mike, extending his hand. The puppets that were trapped in the ice started to tremble, cracks forming across the ice. It then exploded into shards as the lances they carried in their hands immediately whizzed past by them and the other members of the Circus. With ease, Mike was able to grab them both.

"Magnetism?" Molly gasped. "He was able to attract the atoms in the metal and draw them to him."

"I just don't attract ladies," Mike smirked, twirling the lances around. He then charged up to Paul while Molly and Prince Jeri followed; the three brandishing out their own weapons.

"That just won't do." said Paul as he snapped his fingers. Icicles that were at least 15 feet high started to shoot from the floor, splitting the Temple so neither side can reach the other.

"Holy shit." Adam whispered as he walked up to the wall. "This is unreal." He tried punching the ice, only to bruise his knuckle. "Ouch..."

"We really should've brought Matt and Jeff." said Jay, bringing out a Sphere. But as he did so, something dropped out of his back: a small blue trident that was no bigger than a small dagger.

"What the heck is this?" He murmured as he picked it up. "Wait...this is the birthday gift Adam gave to me when we were 13; I can't believe I forgot it!" It then grew until it was a couple of inches shorter than he was, and Jay felt warmth coming from it. "Whatever it is though, I hope it works."

Eve gasped as an avalanche soon started to shake the Temple; in an instant, snow started to collapse, blocking off the entrance to the Temple, trapping everyone in a freezing prison with no way out.

"Oh no," she whispered. "We're going to die!"

"We won't, Eve." said Ken, as his puppets brought out a pair of twin daggers. "We're going to smash through the ice until we..." He was stopped when the icicles were smashed into pieces, as everyone there covered their eyes. A cold chill went through to them, as their teeth were chattering and their breath was coming out in small puffs. Paul smirked as he walked toward Brian, who was covered in snow.

"Have you ever heard of the tale of the little boy who was frozen in ice?" Paul whispered, sending more chills through Brian, as if every time a word escaped the Latino's lips, it was freezing him. "But don't worry, I would never do that to you. Even when everything else is ugly, you are more radiant then ever when you're freezing to death."

"S-stop doing this to us," Brian chattered out. "You're being p-p-possessed."

"No, I've just come to my senses." Paul replied. "But, if you're willing to save me, then I'll give you a test."

"A-anything..." Brian said softly, his wings shaking off any snow that was on it. He tried to grab onto Paul's hand, only for it to be swatted away by the little fox.

"No!" Eve cried out. "Don't do it, Brian! He's going to trick you!"

"Snap out of it!" Prince Jeri added.

"Then here!" Paul brought out a small back of crystals and poured them all over the icy floor. "Spell out the word 'eternal' with all of these crystals, and I'll make sure to identify the Relic for you to destroy. Deal?"

Brian could only nod his head.

Jay ran up to Paul, his blue trident aimed for his heart. "Brian will never trust a deranged maniac like you!" He cried, the prongs of the trident getting closer and closer to the Vessel.

The small fox glared at the juggler while Paul nodded his head; in a puff of ice and fog, Jay was soon transformed into an ice sculpture.

"JAY!" Adam cried out as he brought out his bow and arrow. "That's it, you die!" He then placed two black feathered arrows onto the bow and released the bowstring, letting the two projectiles reach their target. Paul only smirked as the two were transformed into icicles and fell onto the floor, shattering into small ice shards.

"That's the best you can do?" the white jester asked. "Pathetic." He snapped his fingers, as Adam let out a small cry, only to be transformed into an ice sculpture.

"STOP IT!" Brian screamed out as Ken brought out his puppets to strike. Prince Jeri brought out his rapier while Molly began to throw darts at the Vessel. All of them were turned into ice sculptures in a barrage of icy fog; the little ice mice soon shattered into pieces.

"Anyone else?" Eve and Mike shook their heads. "Good." Paul then turned to Brian, stroking his hair with a glove so crystals started to drop down from the golden tresses. "Begin."

Brian nodded his head as he touched a crystal...only for his finger to become frozen! "No..." He whispered.

"Time's a ticking..." Paul said with a smirk. "If you don't do it, then everyone will die just like that boy..." A cold laugh rang through the temple.

Brian whimpered a bit as he slowly moved his left second finger at the ice, trying to make the letter 'e' in the marble floor. He smiled a bit as he then tried to make the 't', only for the fox to leap out of Paul's arms and onto the crystals, scattering them across the floor.

"Hey!" said Brian, grabbing the fox, only for his whole left hand to become frozen solid. He immediately dropped the little pup and gasped as he saw the ice traveling up to his shoulder. The black jester immediately tried his hardest to spell the word again while Eve and Mike watched in horror.

"We have to do something or we all die like the boy did!" Mike whispered to the singer. He then stared at the two jesters and the little white fox. "I think I figured out what the Relic was."

"You did?" asked Eve. "But it doesn't look like he's protecting something important to him...isn't that the same thing that happened to Brian?"

"Relics are different for each Vessel apparently." Mike answered. "Now here's what we're going to do." He immediately whispered a plan into Eve's ear who nodded her head. Mike then stepped back from Eve as she let out a small note, letting out a bubble of light travel to Brian.

"Keep going," Mike said to himself as more bubbles of light continued to flow from Eve's lips, a sweet strand of music going through the chilly palace.

Brian let a tear fall down his eye as he tried to spell the word, but every time he was getting there, the fox continued to mess it up. He was chattering from the cold, and he wanted to close his eyes...to just sleep...to just...to just...

His eyes suddenly saw one of Eve's light bubbles float around him, glowing like a little firefly. He then tried to recall a song he heard long ago as he continued to piece together the word. More spheres of light continued to circle around the room while Paul stared at him coldly.

_**Close your eyes, give me your hand, darling**_

_**Do you feel my heart beating?**_

_**Do you understand?**_

_**Do you feel the same?**_

_**Am I only dreaming?**_

_**Is this burning an eternal flame?**_

Brian smiled slightly as he finished the 'r'; only to have his hopes crushed once more as the fox once again knocked the crystals around. By that time, both of his arms were frozen solid, and so was his torso. His black wings were covered in small snow crystals, and his hair was becoming similar to ice. He was about to start the first 'e' once more, but stopped and stared at Paul.

"You win." Brian whispered, a tear splashing down onto the floor. "Just...let me have one request."

"And what's that?" Paul asked.

"Can you at least let me have a hug?" He asked as the ice surrounding his body started crawl toward his neck and legs. "Can I have one more ounce of warmth before I die?"

"Fine." Paul muttered as he knelt down and wrapped his arms around Brian. The black jester leaned his head toward the warmth, letting out a single sigh as one more tear fell onto the ground.

"Good bye." Brian whispered as his face was encased in ice. Paul slowly dropped him down, seeing his best friend asleep in a coffin of ice. Eve gasped at the act; unable to sing anymore, the little fireflies of light disappeared.

The white jester soon walked away. "No..." He whispered. "NO! BRIAN! BRIAN!!!" He continued to scream the black jester's name; all of his efforts in vain while Brian had a peaceful smile on his face as he continued to sleep.

"NOW!" Eve cried as Mike launched the lances where Paul was. The white jester couldn't say anything as the lances went toward him; he closed his eyes as a loud yowl pierced the air.

Paul slowly opened his eyes as he saw one lance floating in front of his face, the other was pierced into the heart of the little white fox. Blood spewed out, staining the white fur and poured onto the marble floor, coloring the ice crystals to a nice shade of red.

"Gross." said Eve, pulling out her fur coat from the snow and wrapped it around her. She then walked up to the corpse of the fox, slowly pulling the metal lance out. She gulped as she used it to slice the stomach of the little puppy open, splitting the patch of white fur into two, until it resembled a vest with organs and more blood spilling out.

Paul's eyes slowly started to glaze over as he stared at Eve rummaging through the fox's organs. She slowly pulled out what looked like a small doll that was also covered in blood.

"Watch out!" Eve turned around as Paul grabbed her wrist, his face looking maniacal and psychotic as she screamed in terror. Mike immediately brought out the two lances, positioning them to strike the white jester should there be any trouble.

"H-have it!" said Eve, pushing the wet and bloody doll into Paul's chest. "Just get away from me!"

The singer pushed her hand into Paul's chest, a small light radiating the room, causing all of the ice that was on the Circus members and the snow blocking the Temple to slowly vanish. Sunlight started to pour into the edifice, causing a rush of warmth to spread through Mike and Eve.

"We did it!" Eve cried, hugging Mike. "We saved everyone!"

"Well not entirely everyone." said Mike, pointing to where Brian was in his icy coffin. "He sacrificed his own life to save us."

"Poor Brian." Eve said bowing her head.

Adam looked around, seeing the sun warming up everything around it. "What happened?"

Jay looked around and then pointed to Brian. "That happened." He said sadly. "Brian got frozen like the little boy."

"We have to do something!" said Prince Jeri rushing toward Brian. His nails transformed to claws as he tried to slashing through the ice...only for nothing to happen. "Oh no..."

"He was a good friend." said Ken, bowing his head. "He deserves a proper burial."

"BRIAN!" Paul yelled, slamming his fists. "WAKE UP! WAKE UP!"

"This is such a sad moment," said Molly, a tear falling down her eye.

There was nothing but silence as Paul let tears fall down his eyes, continuing to bang his hands against the ice to wake his friend up.

"He's gone..." Paul whispered. "Brian's gone..."

And he screamed to the high heavens.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Leonard's eyes widened, feeling something was wrong. He whistled as a couple of ravens flew to him, all of them started to feel concern for their master.

"What happened?" He asked them. Some of the ravens croaked out a message for him while his expression showed more stress and fear.

"No....NO!" He cried out. "I have to go save him!"

"That's not the best thing to do." said Batista, leaning against one of the walls of the Temple. "If a Guardian leaves his Temple, then his powers will be wakened considerably and there would be no way that you could return back to the Chopi Woods."

"Then what do I do?!" Leonard cried out. Batista loaded his crossbow with a red crossbow bolt.

"Create a portal with the potion, and let me fire this arrow." the hunter replied.

Leonard nodded as he brought out a small vial of bubbling swamp green liquid. "Mother Gaea, please bless me." He whispered as he poured it onto the ground. The liquid soon became a portal, the image was showing Paul trying his hardest to break Brian out of the ice coffin.

"Fire away." Batista said as he pulled the trigger.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Paul let more tears fall down the icy crystal where Brian was sleeping. Everyone else around him was silent while they let him cry.

Molly heard a whizzing sound and her eyes widened. "DUCK!" she cried as Paul saw a crossbow fired at him. The white jester dove at the last second as the arrow hit the ice coffin. In a matter of seconds it started to melt away as steam started to dissipate into the air. Soon enough, Brian was sleeping in a puddle of water.

"Brian?" Paul asked as he placed his hand over his friend's heart. His eyes widened in surprise at what he felt...

A heartbeat...he was alive.

Brian slowly opened his eyes, getting on his knees and looked around. "What happened?" He didn't get an answer as Paul wrapped his arms around him, sobbing softly.

"I almost lost you." Paul whispered. "You almost got killed by me....I'm so sorry."

"I died?" Brian said in confusion. "When you hugged me, I fell asleep...and I met someone. He closed his eyes, trying to remember the person's name. "Ve...ga..."

"That would be me." Everyone looked behind them to see a person wearing an outfit similar to Paul's; the main difference was that there was more armor that had the design of a fox on the breastplate, and the mask had a golden star on the forehead. He also carried a lyre in his hand and a large fox was at his feet.

"Nice to meet you all," said the man, bowing to them. "My name is Vega, the Guardian of Light."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

_What is the connection of the two boys and the Dimni Clan?_

_What do these Night walkers have in store?_

_What new obstacles will the Dream Circus face?_

_And does the rest of the Dream Circus realize that nine of their members are missing?_

_All of this and more in the next chapter!_

_Read and Review!_


	17. Lyra, the Lyre

_All right, we're rolling right around to about nearly one-third of the story. So let's start..._

_Right now!_

_ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _

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**Masquerade in the Night**

**By Green Phantom Queen**

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**Chapter 17-Lyra, The Lyre**

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"So this is a Guardian." Prince Jeri whispered, seeing Vega smiling at them. "He looks nice."

"Looks can be deceiving, Prince Jeri." Molly replied, hugging the small cat closer to her.

"I come in peace." The Guardian of Light replied as he walked closer to Brian. He then grabbed his hand and kissed it. "So, you are Leonard's Vessel, am I right?"

"Uh-huh." Brian replied. "Oh and Leonard sent me a message to say that he's doing fine." He then stared at the dead little fox. "Sorry about the fox."

"It had to be done." Vega murmured as the older fox licked the face of its dead child. "In life, you must have sacrifices; it was shown here that despite not wanting to kill it, you had to in order for you to survive."

"Survival is a cruel reality." Ken muttered under his breath.

"So, what now?" asked Eve. Vega smiled as he placed a hand on Paul's forehead.

"This." He whispered as Paul's eyes were enveloped with a white glow. Paul gasped slightly as a cold chill went down his spine; a cold aura started to develop around him as Vega dropped his hand. Now shining on his forehead was a symbol resembling the sun peeking out from some fluffy, white cloud.

"Man," Paul said, sweat pouring down his face. "Is it getting warm in here?"

"It's actually about 65 degrees outside." said Jay. He then walked up to Paul, placing a hand on his forehead; Paul was scorching. "Man, you have a high fever."

"I actually feel colder than usual." Paul whispered as he exhaled. He then saw Jay looking strangely at him. "What?"

"Your eyes." Jay said. "There's something in them."

Adam ran up to Jay and also stared; inside the iris was a design of a snowflake. "Whoa, there is something in there."

"I seriously don't know what you're talking about." said Paul as he exhaled once more. But once he did, a couple of ice crystals came out of his mouth. "What the..."

"Ice breath?"" Mike gasped out. "Wow..."

"Not only that." said Vega. "I also gave him the power to create sculptures out of ice and make them come to life."

Paul clenched his fist and concentrated, an image appearing into his mind. He then unclenched the fist and was amazed to find a small heart made out of ice shining in front of him.

"Wow," Eve gasped out. "It's beautiful."

"Um, guys." said Brian. "We left the Circus and haven't returned. We should get going."

"Right." said Paul, turning to the Guardian of Light. "Thanks for helping Brian out."

"It is no problem." said Vega, bowing down to the Latino. "He is close to Leonard; I would do anything for him."

"Well, we'll tell him that the next time we see him, then." said Ken, returning his puppets back to their original scrolls. "Goodbye then."

That was the last thing said as the 8 Dream Circus Members left the Temple. Once everyone had left, Vega stared down at the small ice crystals that had been ignored for some time. The ice crystals were stacked to spell out the word 'eternal'.

The Guardian could only smile at the word. "Yes, the love those two have will always burn like a everlasting flame." The mother fox whined as she sniffed the ice crystals.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

"That was fun!" Said Jay. "We got the second Guardian's blessing!"

"It was _**not**_ fun, Jay!" Molly cried out. "What is fun about being turn into ice sculptures for someone's sick pleasure?!"

"I think I'm coming down with a cold." said Prince Jeri as he let out a small sneeze.

"Next time, we're going to have to find a Temple at a warmer climate." said Mike. "Isn't that right, Paul? Paul?"

Adam stopped when he saw Mike turning behind him. "Where's Paul and Brian?"

The other four stopped and turned around; Paul and Brian weren't there.

"Guys," said Ken. "This doesn't look good."

"What doesn't look good?" The 6 turned around to see Gangrel and the rest of the Dream Circus behind them, all of them packed up and staring at them.

"Uh oh." All six of them said. Gangrel was staring at them, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Well?"" Gangrel asked them. "Where are Paul and Brian? And where were you?"

"W-we can explain." said Prince Jeri. "I hope we can explain."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Paul and Brian couldn't explain what had happened....the two were the last to leave the Temple, but when they left they were no longer on a path in the Pagliacchi Mountains. They were now back in Noir and all of it's grey and dreary sky glory.

"Noir?" Brian asked in confusion. "But I thought we were almost in Geb."

"Something's not right." said Paul, seeing a couple of ravens flying by. "And by not right, I mean 'We're in the Chopi Woods, and it's giving me a strange feeling just like what happened in to us about a week ago' feeling."

"Welcome, to my Temple!" A voice cried out. The two turned around to see Leonard and Batista walking up to them. Many ravens also cawed out a hello.

"Um, hi?" Brian asked as he saw many ravens started to land near him. They all had curious looks on their faces and cawed in reply.

"What's going on here?" asked Paul. "Why were we sent back to Noir?"

"We created a teleportation portal originally designed to send Leonard to Vega." Batista explained. "But since you were able to save yourselves, then there was no use for us coming to you."

"So it was you who brought in that crossbow bolt and saved Brian from that icy prison." said Paul, recalling the arrow that hit the ice.

"Well someone had to save Leonard from breaking down." Batista said with a small smile before it turned to a look of seriousness. "But that's not why you're here."

"You're right. It's time for the truth, my sons."

The four turned around seeing a young woman with a beautiful tan and short blonde hair smile at them sweetly. She was wearing a black blouse and a black miniskirt decorated with red chains while a pair of black boots went up to her knees. She had a pair of earrings in the shape of candles and a necklace of a silver cross encrusted with three rubies.

"So you're the one I've been sensing." said Leonard, crossing his arms. "And who are you?"

"Sunny," the woman said with a smile. "Their original mother."

"Mother?" Paul said weakly, pointing a trembling finger at the woman. "Y-you can't be our mother...we...we..."

"You don't know me because your memories were sealed off." said Sunny, walking closer to them. The ravens flew away, all cawing out of fright, flying into the Temple of Shadow.

"S-stay back!" Brian added, bringing out his black feathered wings. "We'll leave...."

"You're not leaving." Sunny said, her face changing to display a look of seriousness. "You're coming back to us right now."

Batista loaded a crossbow bolt and aimed it at the woman. "I've killed banshees and sirens before, miss." He said solemnly. "Don't make me add another woman on the list."

"I knew you would say that," said Sunny bringing out a lyre. Unlike most lyres, this one was completely black and there was an image of a fairy amongst the base of the instrument. "So now, let me at least do this..."

She let her fingers strum through the strings, gently plucking out notes into the air. The sound made Batista and Leonard cover their ears, the ravens started to fly away from the horrible noise. However, it caused Paul and Brian to become petrified. The two couldn't move as the music trapped them as if they were chains.

"W-what's going on?" asked Brian as more notes came from the lyre. "The music...it's...it's..." He stopped there as the plucked notes created a string of music, causing his vision to blur. Paul tried to block out the sound, but it soon swirled inside his mind as his eyes started to feel heavy. Sunny smirked as she saw the two Vessels asleep from her music. The two were snoring away, while their faces had contacted the mud.

"We have to do something," said Batista, trying to use his crossbow. "The Dimni is very possessive of their property...particularly when it comes to these two. If she gets her hands on them, we're in trouble."

Leonard opened his eyes, trying to move toward where Sunny was, his hands covering the sound. But due to blocking his sense of hearing and touch, it became harder for the Guardian to see his surroundings. Sunny smirked as she walked over to the jesters, her hands still plucking the lyre.

Batista stared at his surroundings...some sort of succubus trying to steal Paul and Brian, the Guardian of Shadow becoming weak since he could do nothing against the sound, and the cawing of ravens being drowned by the lyre. Wait a minute...

The hunter raised his crossbow bolt into the air and pulled the trigger, ravens circling around the area. The bolt flew like a gunshot causing the ravens to caw even louder. Sunny covered her ears, dropping the lyre in the process, trying her hardest to cover the screech of the annoying pests. Sensing the cries of the birds, Leonard lowered his hands and opened his eyes once more, trying to find the woman causing this mess.

"I won't let you take my sons away!" Sunny screamed out. "I lost them all those years ago, but I've finally found them...and you won't stop me from taking what's rightfully mine! The Dimni Tribe has died...but it will flourish once more with their help "

She clasped her hands in prayer as a black portal appeared beneath her, Paul and Brian. The three started to sink into the ground just as Leonard was charging up to them.

"DIE!!!" Leonard said, brandishing his rapier. Sunny smirked as the three soon vanished into the ground; Leonard soon had his face connect with the dark earth of Noir.

"Damn it," said Batista. "She's got them. And I doubt their little buddies know where they are."

Leonard stood up as he extended an arm. One of the ravens immediately perched itself amongst the palm and croaked. The Guardian of Shadow nodded his head as the raven flapped its wings and flew into the Temple.

"We still have some potion, right?" Leonard said out of the blue.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

"So let me get this straight," said Gangrel. "Paul followed a little snow fox up into the Mountain because it had the burlap sack containing the Orb of Light. But when he got it from the little pup, he pulled it out of the sack and the light from the sun shined on it...thus causing it to show where the Temple of Light was?"

"That's what Vega said." said Adam.

"And then Jay woke up to find that Paul and the Orb of Dawn was gone, and he woke Adam up." Matt added. "Then as you two were leaving, the Circus members who didn't see the first Temple along with Brian followed you up the mountain, where you met up with Michael, the Vessel of Light."

"Exactly." said Eve.

"He imprisoned you in the temple to make sure you froze to death, "said Maria, reading off her notes. "And then he turned everyone but Brian, Eve and Mike into ice sculptures, stating that he'd let them all free if Brian spelled the word 'eternal' with ice crystals."

"Uh-huh." said Prince Jeri, nodding his head.

"But the fox kept messing it up," Mickie said, summing it up. "And whenever Brian touched it, it would freeze his body. So he gave up, and it caused Paul to temporarily take control of his body, and then Mike pierced the fox with a spear, which in turn had Paul's Soul Doll in it?"

"It still looked gross, don't remind us." said Mike.

"Once Eve returned the Soul Doll, the snow melted off, but Brian was still asleep in the ice coffin." Jeff said sadly. "Poor him..."

"But it gets better." said Molly. "Some sort of portal came and it fired an arrow of fire which melted the ice completely. And then we met up with Vega; he gave us the Blessing and Paul can now breath ice and make ice sculptures!"

"It still doesn't answer one question, though." said Shannon. "Where the hell are they?!"

"That's what we want to know!" Jay cried out. "We don't know where they are and there were no traces of someone following us."

Ken turned behind him seeing a black raven flying toward them. "Um, guys. We've got company."

Everyone looked to see the bird flying down of them, it landed on top of Gangrene's head and let out a soft 'caw'.

"A raven?" asked Ashley seeing the little bird peck at the ringmaster's head. "Why would a raven be in a cold place like this?"

"Because it's not supposed to be here." said Randy. "Then that means...it's from Leonard!"

Gangrel shooed the bird away, brushing away a couple of strands of hair in front of him. The raven soon perched on his shoulder and cawed.

"All right, all right." He muttered, seeing a small glow ring on the raven's foot. "What the..."

He gingerly pulled it from the raven, grasping it with his fingers. A small light appeared and a hologram of Leonard was projected out of the ring in front of everyone.

"I hope this message arrived safely." The hologram said. "But there is a matter of importance; a woman, by the name of Sunny came and stole your friends away. She claims that they are her 'sons', and has taken them away to the rest of the Dimni Tribe. I am here to war you that this clan is trying to awaken and those two boys are going to be sacrificed if you don't do anything soon!"

"But where _are_ they?!" said Matt. "We don't know where this Dimni Tribe is at."

"Fortunately, we know where they are." Everyone whirled their heads back at the hologram emphasizing the word 'we'. "Oh yeah, I forgot. That monster hunter is with me; I hired him to help me out on this case. Anyway, each Guardian can trace their Vessel if they are in danger...my Vessel and Vega's Vessel are somewhere in Noir. Wherever that is, I'm not sure."

"But how are we supposed to get to Noir?" John exclaimed. "It'll take us days to get there!"

Suddenly a dazzling light from the Glow Ring engulfed everyone. In a whirlwind of colors, the whole Dream Circus was soon in the Chopi Woods, and the resident ravens.

"Oh, god." Jay moaned. "If I'm harassed by one of those ravens, I swear to Gaea that I'll..."

"You'll do what, exactly?" Jay flinched to see Leonard standing in front of the group, strumming his fingers against his arm. The look on his face meant trouble. "Well, what are you going to do?"

"I'll...just give them a pat on the head and bid them goodbye?" Jay said, hoping the Guardian would accept the answer.

"They don't seem that bad," said Prince Jeri, letting a couple of ravens perch in his hair. "They're cute!"

"Not until they try to attack you." Ashley muttered as two landed on her shoulders. "But still...what do we do now?"

"We split up and try to find them." Everyone looked up to see Batista step down the steps of the Temple, the crossbow strapped on his back, ready to attack a living monster if needed. "For those of you who are new to the Dream Circus, my name is Dave Batista." He bowed down to them. "I am glad to meet all of you."

"What's going on?" asked Gangrel.

"The Dimni tribe is going to sacrifice your friends for some ancient ritual." Leonard said bluntly. "If those two are killed, then the balance of the world will tilt...leading to Armageddon."

"Typical." Ken aid with some sarcasm. "If the world is not balanced, then everything falls into darkness; darkness without light, good without evil...if the world was like this, we would be in more chaos than we already are."

"At least we narrowed it down to one Kingdom of Harmonia." said Mickie. "But what now?"

"Simple." said Batista. "Split up in the areas around here and see if anyone can sense them out."

"Judging by them being in one of the smaller Kingdoms, and that it's close to the Chopi Woods." said Adam. "We only have a few places: Allie, Adagio, Presto, the clans of both the Felic and Lu pins...and the McDowell Spring."

"I'll stay here and try to track down Brian and Paul from here." said Gangrel. "Anyway, the rest of you have to head to the other area of Noir to find out where they could've gone."

"But there's no way we'll get to those villages in time!" Matt cried out. "It'll take hours, and we'll be too late!"

"Then take this." Leonard whistled and many ravens started to land with vials in their beaks. They dropped them gently onto the darkened earth, five vials of swamp green liquid.

"All right." said Ashley, picking up the first vial. "Maria, Mickie and I will head for Allie."

"Agreed." said Molly, placing the second vial in a small pouch in her dress. "Prince Jeri and I will meet up with the King."

"Time to head back home," Ken muttered, grabbing the third vial. "Randy, Eve and Mike will go with me."

"Let's go to Presto, Matt!" said Jeff, jumping up and down after taking the fourth vial. "It'll be fun! And Shannon can come along with us!"

"I'll head off to meet up with Dad." said John, immediately grabbing the last vial. "Hope he's feeling fine."

"Then that leaves me and Jay to go to the McDowell Springs." said Adam. "But how are we going to communicate with each other? Ashley only made 4 butterfly pins."

As to answer that question, a couple of raven feathers fell on top of his head. The older twin picked one off of his hair and stared at it intently.

"I get it!" said Eve. "They're like receivers; they'll work despite the distance that we're separated from each other. Excellent!"

"Then what are we waiting for?" Jeff cried out. "Let's go save our friends!" He immediately smashed down the vial of liquid as a cloud of green colored smoked camouflaged him, Matt and Shannon.

Adam and Jay immediately mounted on the Sphinxes and rushed to the Springs, Stryker climbing on top of Adam as the sound of glass breaking and the smell of swamp water filled the air.

"This is going to be messy if they don't find them." Gangrel muttered.

"Agreed." said Leonard and Batista.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Randy looked around the village. "Home once more," He murmured as he, Ken, Eve and Mike looked around. For the first time in so long, everyone was happy and carefree. It felt as if he had become some sort of god or figure to look up to.

"What the?!" Ken cried out looking at the center of the town. "What happened to the Lady in Chains statue?"

"She has a name, you know." said Randy. "Her name was Sarah, and during the time Vickie summoned Lucifer to attack us she was free of her stone prison and helped me kicked his ass."

The three teenagers stared at him in shock, either because they couldn't believe it, or they just didn't want to believe what he said.

"Lucifer?" Ken repeated. "As in the demon of pride that would send hell on Harmonia if ever got released due to the sacrifices of 8 innocent women and anyone who got in his way would be turned to stone? _That_ Lucifer?"

"Is there any _other_ Lucifer in this world?" Randy exaggerated. "And it wasn't easy, considering all I had were at least 5 Spheres, a small dagger and a book of spells. If it wasn't for mom's Black Hole Sphere I would've been a goner."

"A what?" Eve asked in confusion. "What's a Black Hole Sphere?"

"Very dangerous magic." Mike said simply. "Anything caught in its radius will be pulled into Oblivion. Nothing is safe from its wrath, unless you have a powerful shield up..."

"Which is why my Barrier Sphere saved my ass, and the asses of the other members of the Circus." Randy finished off. It was then some of the children noticed him and ran up to the four, some of them being girls and trying to make themselves look nice. They were crowding around the four as they were all asking Randy lots of questions like "How has your trip been?" or "Can you perform a magic trick for us?"

"Hey!" Randy looked to see Deuce, Domino and Cherry run up to him. The three men gave each other high fives as Cherry gave Randy a kiss on the cheek.

"Don't worry," said Domino, patting the necromancer on the back. "For saving my sister, any kiss that's on the cheek is safe."

"Um, thanks...I guess." said Randy in disbelief.

"You must be famous in Adagi, Randy." said Eve. "Especially if you're given free kisses from a girl!"

"It's a pretty nice place, after all." said Mike seeing the mysterious houses, and twisted leafless trees.

"And it seems like you have some friends," said Cherry seeing the other three teenagers. She then glared at Ken. "And you. What do you want, traitor?"

Ken brought out his hands in defense. "I'm one of the good guys now. I lost a magic duel to Randy and that meant I'm part of the Dream Circus. Happy?"

"It's true!" Randy defended. Deuce, Domino and Cherry looked at Ken for a second then shrugged their shoulders.

"All right," said Domino wearily. "But you're lucky Victoria isn't here. If she was, she'd zap both your asses to Oblivion."

"Sounds horrible." said Eve.

"So," said Deuce. "What brings you guys to Adagi?"

"Well," said Ken. "It's kind of hard to explain...but our friends Paul London and Brian Kendrick have been kidnapped and are said to be princes of the Dimni Tribe."

Everything became silent after Ken finished his sentence. Ken looked around weirdly.

"What?" He asked everyone in confusion. "At least it's better than me telling that Randy is marrying the Lupin Prince John Cena on the next Witching Hour."

"They're what?!" Eve and Mike yelled out, echoing the shock on the faces of the witches and wizards. Ken immediately realized what he said and slapped his forehead.

"Oops." He muttered under his breath.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Prince Jeri and Molly ran through the forests, seeing the beautiful water of the Fantasia river greeting them in its own magical way. The two immediately found many of the members of the Felix tribe greet them and shower them with gifts. Prince Jeri—after finally struggling through the crowd of young kittens who wanted to say hello—he finally made it to his father.

"Oh great King." said Molly, bowing down to him. "We have arrived early, but we are in need of assistance."

"Prince Jeri, Molly." The King said to the two of them. "What is going on?"

"Dad," said Prince Jeri, looking up at the fierce king. "Two of my acquaintances in the Dream Circus have been kidnapped by this woman who is part of the Dimni Tribe. Do you know of their whereabouts?"

The Feli King stared at them for a moment then rubbed his chin. "Now why does my son want to know such serious information?"

"Because if we don't find them, the Guardians of Shadow and Light will be killed!" Molly cried out. "And if they're killed the balance of Harmonia will tip and the world will be destroyed!"

At that statement the ears of the Feli King perked up. "I see...I thought I sensed something bad. I sensed some of their spies about an hour ago, so they must be close by."

"I better tell that to the others." said Prince Jeri, pressing on the butterfly clip on his head. "Hey guys, it's me, Prince Jeri..."

While he was communicating, Molly went to the King. "Good sir," she replied. "We are in quite a pickle. You see the, ringmaster has the soul of Dusk, the Guardian of Harmonia in him. We've encountered him twice, and I need to know if you know anything about him."

"I knew something was wrong about that man." The King murmured. "How is he, by the way?"

"Fine, actually." said Molly. "Nothing seems to be wrong, the only bad thing happens if Gangrel feels afraid or shocked...I don't know how to explain it actually. The first time he transformed was when that madman was about to incinerate me and Prince Jeri. The second time was when we were trying to figure out the mystery behind a haunted mansion and if it wasn't for Eve—one of the newest members of the Circus—I was certain we would've died."

"Keep an eye on Dusk, Molly." said the King. "I want to assure that I entrusted the Cat's Eye to the right people. That is one of the treasures needed for the Temple of Earth in Geb. I contacted the Avi clan, and once you head off to Geb, you should meet up with them at the capital. Good luck, I trust in you."

"Thank you, your highness." the female cat replied as Prince Jeri ran up to the two.

"I've got good news and bad news." said Prince Jeri. "Good news, we found out where London and Kendrick are!"

"The bad news?" Molly gulped.

"Adam and Jay found them near the Fantasia River...but they got kidnapped by the Dimni Tribe!" Prince Jeri screamed.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

_Crud..._John thought to himself. _Great timing to get a message from the Circus...only for me to not do anything until my dad gets me out of his death grip!_

John gasped for air as his father released the grip. He was about to turn and run off when his arm was grabbed.

"Son," The Lupin king said placing a hand on his shoulder. "What's the holdup? You've only just returned!"

"Dad," John replied. "I've got two things to say and they're really important. First off...my friends are in trouble and I need to ask if you know anything about the Dimni Tribe—and that I'm also getting married to a Shade on the next Witching Hour."

"The Dimni Tribe." The father slowly repeated. "Yes, they're an ancient kind of Night walkers...ancient warriors who were descended from demons or something like that. But recently, they are being hunted down for the wrong reasons...and the two princes were taken away by birth to make sure that they're only hope of being saved would not be destroyed. On the princes' 16th birthday they would be needed to be used as a sacrifice so that their 'gods' would give them a blessing."

"Oh my god," John whispered. "Brian and Paul were both born on August 18th...that's today! This is not good..."

"Indeed," the king replied. He then stared at his son with some seriousness. "Now then, I believe you said something about you being married. Tell me, what's the name of the Shade?"

"Um, Randy Orton?" John replied sheepishly.

It took a couple of seconds for the giant wolf to register what was said...but when he did, he fainted in dead shock.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

"Jeff," Matt replied, pulling his brother away from the candied apples. "We have to go now!"

"But I want an apple!" Jeff whined. Matt could only roll his eyes as he brought out a green vial of Whispering Fate nectar. He uncorked the vial and poured the contents into his mouth before turning Jeff around.

"Huh?" Jeff could reply as Matt pressed their lips together, letting the medicine be pushed into the younger Hardy's mouth. Matt immediately broke it as he saw Jeff swallow the medicine and saw his younger brother immediately turn a shade of green.

"Uhh..." The younger Hardy groaned as he ran to the nearby bushes, spewing out chunks of food from his stomach.

Shannon just sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "_**This**_ is a circus?" He said to Matt. "Sooner or later, I'm going to have to call this a 'gay community'."

"Don't make me do the same thing I did to Jeff, Shannon Brian Moore." Matt replied. He then pulled Jeff from the bushes. "Let's get out of Presta and back to the Chopi Woods. We need to regroup."

"Ditto." Shannon muttered under his breath.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

"You must understand, Queen Gertrude." Maria finished off. "Our friends are in trouble, and we need your help."

"I understand what you're trying to explain." Gertrude replied. "But you do know the dangers when heading toward territory of the Dimni Tribe, right?"

"But Paul and Brian are the Guardians of Light and Shadow." Mickie reminded the Queen of Noir. "If they're done, we're done."

"All right," Gertrude said after a couple of seconds of silence. "Hawkins. Ryder. Please come..."

The three girls saw the faces of Hawkins and Ryder appear, both carrying two small staffs.

"You're teaching them magic?" Ashley asked the Queen. Gertrude nodded her head.

"I've been teaching them teleportation, actually." Gertrude explained. "That way, should there be a problem, then these two would bring in everyone to safety."

"And it's really neat too!" Hawkins replied.

"I know this is urgent," Gertrude continued with the three girls. "But you three are the only ones who can go at this point. If we try and wait for the rest of the Circus to come, then I know that things will not turn out for the better."

"Actually," Mickie said suddenly. "I was working on something..." She brought out something from her purse: a small doll in the likeness of herself.

"A doll?" Ashley asked in confusion. "What's that going to do?"

"I learned to sew before I ran away from home." Mickie explained. "If we can't wait for our teammates...then we'll just send these in our place. They'll act like a mini version of ourselves. I call them 'Astral Dolls'. In order to make these work I need samples of hair and combine it with Maria's Fusion Alchemy."

"How many dolls do you have there?" Ashley asked, seeing the bag near Mickie's waist.

"Let's just say that if I had a lock from Gangrel's hair, and had a bit more time to sew ones for Eve and Mike, then it would be complete." Mickie replied.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 **

Adam and Jay couldn't believe what was happening. A little trip to the McDowell Springs...and they ended up along with Brian and Paul on a sacrificial altar. Torches with large flames flickered in the dark room, as beads of sweat trickled down their bare chests.

"This is not going to turn out well." Adam muttered, both twins being bound to the stone floor with ropes tied around their wrists and ankles. "I am not going to be happy."

"I doubt we have that choice." Jay replied. "What now?"

"I'd try using my powers." said Paul. "But the heat is killing me."

"We're going to die." Brian whimpered. "And I don't want to die yet!"

"Adam? Jay?" The twins looked around. The Dimni Tribe members—all dressed in black cloaks—didn't say anything...but they were certain no one said anything. Paul and Brian didn't say a thing at all...but it sounded a lot like Mickie.

"Mickie?" Adam whispered. "Is that you? Where are you?"

"Above you." Adam looked up to see a small doll in the likes of Mickie James. It was made out of fabric with something to hair for the brown locks, dressed in a purple corset top and pants and had a cute smile on its face. "I'm talking to you through an Astral Doll...basically, Maria and I helped make these dolls have souls, you can say. What's the situation?"

"In case your cute, big eyes don't notice," Adam hissed. "We're tied down to a stone altar and about to die. Paul's ice attacks can't work due to the intense heat of the flames, and any weapon we can find is useless."

"Don't worry," this time the voice came from a doll in the likes of Jeff. "We'll save you."

"Aww, how cute." Jay replied seeing the little doll. "Wait...if we can see you, why can't the Day walkers?"

"Easy!" The Jeff doll replied. "They can't hear us because Ken and Randy put spells on them. And as of this moment everyone of us—except for Eve and Mike since Mickie is working on them—has a doll. "Just tell us what to do!"

"Get us out of here." Paul hissed. "The woman that captured us is rambling on and on, but we don't know how long it'll last."

"On it." Soon dolls that resembled almost everyone in the Dream Circus came, each of them with cute smiles on their faces and painted eyes. They immediately started to unbind the four boys on the altar. In a few seconds, the ropes were soon removed from their arms and legs. The four sat up, to the shock of the Dimni Tribe.

"They're unbound." One shouted. "It is the sign of the gods."

"What type of gods do you believe in?" Adam stated as he stood up before turning to Sunny. "And what about you trying to kill your own children? Seriously...that's wrong!"

Sunny snarled as she brought out small dagger. "How dare that you try and tell me what to do! Our tribe has suffered for so long...but the magic powers inside my sons will give us the strength we need to get out of this wretched darkness."

Jay stared at them for a minute. "You want to kill them to help make sure you're not in this hazy dark realm that you're living beneath the McDowell Springs?" He asked. "Why didn't you say so? I can help."

"Jay!" The other three Circus members hissed at him. The members of the Dimni tribe were murmuring under the black cloaks they were wearing. Sunny stared at Jay with some interest.

"All right," Sunny said to the younger twin. "You have one chance. If you can somehow get us out of our underground misery, then we will have no use of the ritual. If not...you die with them."

Adam stared at his brother. "You better have something planned."

"You better." said the dolls of the other circus members chimed.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Gangrel stared at the ring showing the images of Brian and Paul. "I don't see why these two are the chosen ones...something's wrong with them."

He then peered closer...he then saw dust on other sides of where the images of Brian and Paul were. Something was wrong....

"Leonard," He said to the Guardian of Shadow. "Do you know where this wall painting came from?"

"What for?" Batista asked them.

"Because I think those two are the wrong guys..." Gangrel murmured. "They don't look like the sons of that Sunny woman...it's more like they were switched at birth."

Leonard's eyes widened. "So...my Vessel...and Vega's vessels..._**aren't**_ the sons?"

"Adam and Christian headed their way to the McDowell Spring," Batista said, recalling the two. Then it hit him. "Oh no..."

Leonard called for his ravens. "Tell the rest of the Circus the news...They must know."

Hundreds of ravens soon flew out of the Temple, cawing into the pale grey sky as the three adults stared at the dead trees.

"What would happen if Adam and Jay get killed?" asked Batista.

"Bad things," Leonard whispered. "Those twins have some sort of power." He narrowed his eyes. "I saw how Adam attacked me when we first met...commanding those trees to bind me to the ground...he's no ordinary human...and yet he reminds me of someone..." He then stayed silent, trying to think of what it reminded him of.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

"Let's see," said Jay, staring at the bubbling cauldron. "All we need is..." He stared at the members of the Dimni tribe, anticipating their savior. "Uh..."

"Get on with it, Jay!" The John astral doll cried out. "You need to stall for time so we can get to the McDowell Springs...stall!"

"Well?" asked Sunny. "What are you waiting for?"

Jay gulped, and closed his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he was nervous and in thought.

_What do I do now? If I stall, then people will realize something's wrong...but if I do something, chances are things will go wrong...then all of us will die! What do I do now?_

In reply, he opened his eyes and they became like sapphires. A soft wind began to blow as he stared at the cauldron.

"Michael," Jay replied as Paul looked in confusion. "Toss in the items as I call them. "David, fly onto the torches...I'll need fire. Damien..."

Adam looked in confusion as Jay stared into his eyes. "Me?"

"Fire your arrows at the surface...." Adam gulped as he got his bow and arrows. Placing two black feathered arrows onto the bow, he pulled the bowstring, pointing it at the ceiling and fired.

"Wings of a Monarch, Powdered Whispering Fate petals, Nectar of a Star Dragon..." As Jay recited the recipe list, and Paul added ingredients. Brian swooped down, carrying small lighted torches to help heat the cauldron. Adam fired arrow after arrow...until he had no more.

"It's done." Jay whispered. With a wave of his hand, the liquid from the cauldron soon gushed like a geyser, hitting the ceiling that Adam pierced. It created a hole, causing water from above to flow down the small waterfall. It started to stream down the aqueduct built underground, and water soon flowed to the area, sparkling clean.

Jay closed his eyes once more, then opened them. He then turned around. "Huh? What the--?"

"I get it!" Adam whispered. "The items would cause the potion to gush and rise into the ceiling. The arrows piercing the holes helped cause some of the water to drip...and it pushed back all of the mud at the bottom of the Springs...causing it to fall..."

"Not only that," Sunny said, in awe of the beautiful water. "It created an artificial lake away from the Springs...truly amazing."

The members of the Dimni tribe soon removed their hoods, revealing their faces...for some strange reason or other, the tribe members had blonde hair and dark skin. They all gasped in awe seeing all of the water, and the sunlight peeking in from them.

"Strange." said Brian. "Sunny said that Paul and I were the princes of the clan...but we don't even look like any of them, they look more like..."

He and Paul stared at Adam and Jay for a minute...then it was ruined when a huge explosion heard. They heard coughing at the explosion on one of the walls and was amazed to see the rest of the Dream Circus ready to strike.

"All right!" Maria barked. "Nobody move! No one gets hurt if--"

"Hi." said Brian and Paul.

Maria turned to them. "Oh, hi there!" She cried out then paused. "Huh?"

"It's...a long story." said Brian.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

"So, you created an artificial lake inside the McDowell Spring," Ashley explained. "That also now acts like a drainpipe for any rain water that appears, and brings in sunlight to help them out."

"Exactly." said Jay. "Although, I felt someone helping me out..."

"You were really acting strange, bro." Adam replied. "You called me Damien, Brian was David and Paul was Michael."

"Michael was the name of Vega's Vessel." Ken murmured, trying to piece it together. "And David was the name of Leonard's. But what about Damien?"

"Do we want to know at this point?" said Mike. "I don't want to see another Vessel ever again."

"Get used to it, Mike." Randy muttered. "We need to unlock 4 more Temples...and the next one is in the Temple of Geb."

"Um, guys." said Shannon. "You do know that we left Gangrel, Batista and Leonard without a word of what happened down here."

That sentence made everyone run out of the tunnels. Sunny stared at them with some sadness...but she was happy that her sons were all right and that the Dimni Tribe would blossom.

"Um, excuse me, my queen." Sunny turned to see one of the young girls of the village come up. "Something has come out from the prophecy...we...had the wrong children the whole time."

She brought out a scroll that showed two different pictures...one of them were Paul and Brian...the other were Adam and Jay.

"Apparently, the ones we were going to sacrifice were actually regular humans." The girl said sheepishly. "The ones that we were supposed to sacrifice, were actually supposed to bring away to help our village."

Sunny didn't say anything, trying to understand the near foolish mistake she had created. But then...she stared at how happy the members of tribe were doing...the glow of the torches lighting the underground tunnels just showed how things could change for the better.

"You know what?" Sunny said, staring at the happy faces of her subjects. "I'll let them consider the truth...because, I suspect that my real sons have something in them..."

**0 0 0 0 0 0**

Mezza, the capital city in the kingdom of Geb. All was peaceful in the evening time. The Dream Circus—after getting a Teleportation Sphere at the other side of the Pagliacchi Mountain—was finally walking toward the village.

Unfortunately, while they were doing so, two figures were standing on the rooftops. Both of them hard to describe due to the dark sky, but they could see the 18 members of the Dream Circus.

"Well," the taller one of the two whispered. "Should we attack?"

"Maybe...maybe we--" The shorter one stared at Gangrel. "Holy shit...it's him..."

"It can't be..." The taller one said in disbelief. "But he died in that fire eight years ago...this doesn't make sense."

"But I know what does." The second one replied. "Him getting a nice kick to the maw and his head bashed in...he's going to pay for what he did all those years ago."

"Yeah," He said. "But let's do it later...for now, we have to spread the word that we're here."

The second one grinned. "Let's."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Morning dawned on the small village....and so did the realization that someone vandalized the fountain in the town square...the stone fish were now squirting out goo, and a couple of the carts were destroyed.

Mike and Eve were on grocery duty when that happened. That was when they noticed two wanted posters.

_**Wanted: Dead or Alive**_

_**Names: Leaves the initials HHH and HBK**_

_**Arrested for: Vandalism, violence, disturbing the peace, and making a mockery of Lord Vince and the McMahon family**_

_**Should anyone find sightings of them, or have them in custody, please send attention to the nearest guard.**_

_**Reward: 1,000 Clefas**_

"Could these be the guys responsible for the fountain?" Eve asked Mike.

Mike just shrugged his shoulders. "Not sure." He replied. "But, I'll tell you one thing though. Our trip to Mezza became even more interesting."

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_Who is this 'Damien' that Jay murmured about?_

_What happened to Jay when he created the potion?_

_What's going to happen when when the Dream Circus meet up with the people pranking Mezza?_

_And do they really want to know?_

_All this and more on the next chapter!_

_Read and Review!_


	18. Norma, The Rule and Square

_Sorry about the delay on chapter 18, but I had writer's block. But I hope this works as an act of forgiveness!_

_Well, let's go!_

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**Masquerade in the Night**

**by Green Phantom Queen**

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**Chapter 18-Norma, The Rule and Square**

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"So, let's get the facts straight." Ken said, after hearing the story from Eve and Mike. "You went to the village, saw the fountain covered in green goo, and these two posters." He showed the two the wanted posters from the town square.

"Exactly." Mike replied. "And it was awesome! These guys must be professionals if they've got wanted posters. I wonder if they'll tell us some secrets."

"That would be so cool!" Prince Jeri cried out, imagines forming in his mind. "Maybe they can help make the throwing knives act even more dangerous! Right, Molly?"

"I am not going to do something that can kill you, my prince!" Molly cried. "Now go and finish your breakfast."

"Awww..." Prince Jeri replied, dumping some of his breakfast onto Lestat's bowl. The little sphinx cub started to eat it with joy.

"And please make sure that Lestat isn't eating your scraps, my prince." Prince Jeri gulped as he shoved some of the toast back on his plate while Lestat finished eating the fried eggs.

"Anyway, why would we want to help the town out?" Ken continued. "We won 200 clefas from the Masquerade in Modera, we don't need anymore money."

"It's not the money." said Mike. "It's the chance to get two new members for the circus!"

"But these guys are professionals." Eve replied, repeating Mike's words. "They'll be able to defeat us no matter what we do."

"That's because they expect all eighteen of us." Prince Jeri summarized. "What if it was just all of the new members?"

"That might actually work," said Molly. "After all, we have a combination of five performers—six if you count Lestat. This should be a cinch."

"Um, guys." The five turned to see Shannon coming up to them. "We'll be preparing the plans on where we'll be doing our show." He replied. "With the rumors of some pranksters causing harm to the town, we narrowed down to either Piani and Fortissi."

"A couple of pranksters won't stop us from performing!" Prince Jeri cried. "We'll perform in the harshest conditions..."

"When the ringmaster is not feeling so well because he's holding the vengeful son of Gaea and Darkness?" Prince Jeri gulped, recalling Dusk's evil face and that vision he had when he and Molly first entered the circus. "We need time to rest, and we've been traveling so much that even the horses are about to collapse."

"That is true." said Ken. "So, what do we do now?"

"Practice our skills, rest, do some chores, just usuall non-performing stuff." Shannon replied. "Me, I want to practice that new flute I got from Adagi, and paint some tattoos. See ya."

"Bye!" said Prince Jeri, waving goodbye to Shannon.

"Anyway," Molly replied to Mike. "What do you suggest we do?"

Mike grinned. "I suggest we go and get some extra money for the Circus." He replied. "If we're able to get these two pranksters, then we've practically solidified our status in staying with the Circus. Plus, if people find out about us, then it'll bring in more popularity for the Dream Circus!"

"We kill two birds with one stone." Ken replied. A sly smirk graced his lips. "I like it."

"What are we waiting for?" Eve replied. "Off to capturing those pranksters!"

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

The five walked up to the front of the castle...the drawbridge was up, and there was even a moat encircling the stone fortress. Two guards in green were standing in front of the group, holding spears at their sides. Prince Jeri, carrying Lestat in his arms, walked up to the two guards who responded with bringing out their spheres into an "X" formation.

One of the guards stared at the boy. "State your business here," He barked.

Prince Jeri stared at them. "I am Prince Jeri, Prince of the Feli Clan and I..." He cleared his throat. "I command you to let the drawbridge down so we can talk to the king of this town."

"No way, kid." Said the second guard. "No one comes in without an appointment."

"And just who are you to deny Prince Jeri's orders?" Molly snapped, bringing out her darts.

The first one grinned. "I thought you never asked." He then jumped into the air, performing a front flip in front of the five and landed delicately on both of his feet.

"Kenny!" He cried.

"Johnny!" The second guard yelled, repeating the move the first guard performed.

"Mitch!" One said from behind Eve. Eve immediately punched him in the face.

"Nicky! Mikey!" The last two said, both receiving punches from Ken and Mike.

"And we are: the Spirit Squad!" The five yelled, standing in different poses. The five members of the Circus stared at them with lack of interest as they brought out their weapons.

"Wait a minute," Eve replied. "Why are we attacking them? Shouldn't we act in a civilized manner?"

"You're right." Prince Jeri replied, placing Lestat on the ground. He then pointed to one of the Spirit Squad guards. "That guy has a mouse in his pants, Lestat!"

"Meow?" Lestat mewed, but the thought of the mouse soon got to him as he tackled Kenny down. Using his sharp claws, he slashed through the green fabric, trying to find the 'mouse'.

"Get away you mangy rat!" Kenny cried out whacking the sphinx cub away. Hitting the ground, it stood up, letting out a hiss and tackled the five. Bits of fabric and howls of pain came as the five were being mangled up by a small animal. All the while, everyone had to close their eyes from the damage that was being done. When Lestat was done, he immediately walked back into Prince Jeri's arms as the five Circus performers started to head for the drawbridge.

"Allow me." Mike replied as he raised his hands. The chains connecting the bridge slowly fell down as the wooden bridge soon became closer to the ground. The edge of the bridge soon hit the ground as the five made it toward the inside of the castle. It was pretty straightforward from there...until they met up with one of the King's loyal bodyguards: the Big Show.

Everyone looked up at the 7 foot giant, afraid that he was going to eat them. Molly gulped as she curtsied in front of him.

"I am Molly of the Feli Clan, sir." She replied. "May we have an...an audience with the Royal Family?" Silence hung in the air like a wavering note as the rest of the Circus members held their breaths at the giant. Then, he spoke.

"And why should I let five kids enter to see King Vince?" He replied in a low, rumbling voice. "Are you sure you aren't pranksters sent here to take off with the treasure? Or you're allies of those two pranksters that..."

"It's not that at all!" Eve interrupted him. She then brought out a small scroll from her pocket, unraveling it in front of the giant. "This is a contract from the ringmaster of the Dream Circus, Gangrel. It has our names signed on it, bearing proof that we mean you no harm. We just want to get rid of those pranksters."

The guard just laughed at the statement. "Five little kids want to take down pranksters like them?" Lestat growled at that. "Sorry, I meant to say five little kids and a little rat want to take down those pranksters?" He continued to laugh as the Circus members started to get really irate.

"Big Show," The giant turned to see a young woman with long blonde hair in a braid and a green dress coming up to the group. "Let them in, I sense no malice or corruption in their eyes. They just want to help us out."

"Understood, madam." Big Show replied as he stepped out of the way. The five Circus members walked in, gasping at the décor in the room...golden banners draping the walls, portraits of the royal family were also displayed and the walls were made out of stone bricks with suits of armor lined up as if ready for battle. Prince Jeri was quickly reminded of the palace in Modera when he saw of this.

Finally, after the long red carpet trail...they met up with both the King and Queen. The King had salt and pepper hair, with a golden crown on his head, wearing a black bloused and pants and a golden cape. The queen with light blonde hair smiled at them, her small crown perched on her head and a fancy white dress was draped on her body. She stood up as the five approached them.

"Hello there, young ones." She replied. "It's nice to meet you.

Prince Jeri, Molly and Eve soon bowed to the king and queen. Ken also bowed while Mike just brought out a hand and said, "Hi there!"

Molly pulled him down until he was on his knees. "How dare you show such disrespect to the queen!" She hissed at him. "We want to show how much respect we have for them...not to make us look like jesters!"

"But from what I heard from my daughter, you are performers." The five looked up, then turning to see the young girl from before. She politely bowed at them before the King continued to speak. "We want you to show your skills, to prove you are worthy of getting that money."

"Well, why didn't you say so?" Prince Jeri cheered, bringing out his sword. "Give us five minutes and we'll give you a routine to prove how skilled we are!"

"We will allow you that time," the princess replied. "My name is Princess Stephanie, and you have met King Vincent and Queen Linda...we welcome you here to the Kingdom of Geb, and hope that you will do a fabulous job of entertaining us."

"We promise you that." Ken added. "Now let us train!" The five followed the princess into the hallway, excitement building up for their performance.

When they had left, Linda turned to her husband. "Do you think they will survive?"

Vince shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know," he replied. "But I feel that the world is going to change for the worse...the only reason I put up this bounty was to find out why the pranksters kept attacking this place...and somehow, find someone who would bring them in..."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

"All right." Prince Jeri replied, using some chalk to scribble down some shapes and lines. "Eve will sing and bring her orbs of light to Ken, whose puppets will juggle them. These will form rings for Lestat who will leap over them. Molly can bring out her darts to while Mike and Molly will bring in the metal together. They will circle the light rings Eve and Ken created, changing the metal into statues of me and Lestat...then Eve will use the lights to scatter into small sparkles of light while a small 'fight' ensues, while Ken will...um...what what were you doing again?"

Ken sighed for the umpteenth time. "I use the wires on hand around your sword so when the two of you clash, it flies to the ground and then you are to punch it and thus causing Mike and Molly to return it to its original metal..."

"Let's just hope this works." Molly replied. "Although...something bothers me..."

"What's that, Molly?" Mike asked.

"I don't know, but the King and Queen immediately let us in...despite the fact that the last set of guards didn't. Why would they let us in.....?"

"Well, if we want to get the money we can't dwell on thoughts like that." Eve replied standing up. "Now let's show them what we're capable of!"

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

"I spoke too soon!" Eve cried when the group found out that the King and Queen wanted them to perform in front of the whole town. Hundreds of people were gathered at the town square as she saw everyone talking to themselves. Thankfully the Dream Circus must've been really tired since they were not shown in the crowd.

"Keep your calm, everyone." Prince Jeri commanded. "Let us begin the show...."

Eve nodded and took a deep breath. She exhaled, letting out a small note as orbs of light soon appeared surrounding the group...waving her hands like a conductor they soon formed loops in the air near Ken's puppets who juggled them. The audience gasped in awe as Lestat immediately leaped through the hoops, completed a front flip and mewed in front of the group as it landed on all fours.

Mike raised his hands and pointed to a wheelbarrow of metal ore. It flew until it was a small mountain in front of him, compressing it by squeezing his hands closer. Molly helped by bringing out darts to stab at the statue, chipping away some of the excess metal. It soon became a statue of Prince Jeri wielding a sword while Lestat was also faced off with a statue of itself. Eve then let out some more notes as the lights covered the two statues, until it looked like there were two copies of Prince Jeri and Lestat. The real prince brought out his sword and Lestat soon tackled its opponent.

"Look at that!" A small kid cried as the two were fighting each other. Prince Jeri blocked an attack with his own sword and the four soon battled for a few seconds. Just as planned the metal sculpture swung hard, causing Prince Jeri to let go of his sword and it flew onto the ground. Seeing this, Prince Jeri was about to aim a powerful strike...

When suddenly, smoke filled the area. Coughing, he covered his mouth and tried to find the statue. Feeling something in front of him, he pulled his arm back and released a punch...

Only to find out that it was not metal, but flesh.

"Huh?" He said to himself as he was face to face with a person in green and black. His long brown hair was in a ponytail going down to his shoulders, black leather pants with green diamonds and a black mask with a green diamond covered his eyes.

"You kids don't understand the art of a Circus." He hissed. "And we saw you with him...the same one that caused our Circus to die..."

"Wait...who are you talking about?" Prince Jeri gulped. He was about to step back but someone else was standing in front of him. Looking up, he found someone else standing around six feet with blonde hair down to his shoulders. He was pretty muscular as he had a sledgehammer in his right hand and a jester outfit patterned in black and green. A sick grin was on his face as Prince Jeri started to cower in fear.

"Time for a little cave-in." The second jester grinned as Prince Jeri closed his eyes. Without warning, two darts flew through the air, one caught the jester's attention. He turned around, just for the second one to graze his cheek, and let a small cut form on his face.

"You hurt a hair on his head, and you die!" Molly screamed as she ran up to him. The jester snarled as he swung his sledgehammer horizontally, only for him to miss as Molly brought out five more darts. Each of the mice shaped projectiles placed small cuts into the person's skin. Mike stood behind the fountain, using his magnetism powers to control the darts as they flew past the older man and return them to Molly.

"No one damages the reputation of the Dream Circus!" Prince Jeri cried out as he brought out his sword....but then realized Ken had pulled it away before the commotion started.

"Catch!" Prince Jeri looked up and soon grabbed onto the grip of his sword. Ken jumped into the air and brought out the scroll containing Lunati.

"Move it, everyone!" Ken cried as the people in the town square soon headed back to their homes. Ken unraveled the scroll as the white haired puppet appeared once more. She brought out her fans as Ken moved his fingers to strike.

Eve was the only one not doing anything, she saw Ken and Prince Jeri fighting the brunette jester—Lestat biting the his pants—while Molly and Mike were on the other jester throwing and re-throwing darts to halt his movements.

"Stop this!" She cried. "Why do we have to fight?!" The two jesters turned to this and slowly started to walk toward her. Eve held her breath as sweat started to perspire from her brow.

"Oh shit." Ken cried as he returned Lunati to her scroll. He then pulled out another one and revealed a new puppet...one who was around eight feet tall, had black wings and a black phoenix tattoo decorating his chest (which Molly and Prince Jeri thought it was blood). It flew to protect the other Circus members as Eve took in a deep breath...

And she screamed...the sound that escaped her lips amplified, causing the two jesters to fall onto the ground with a thud, and the fountain in the town square to break into pieces, the green goo spilling all over the ground. Ken moved his fingers as the angel puppet used its wings as a shield to block the screech. Then when all was quiet, Eve fell on her bottom, panting for breath.

"You all right?" Mike asked, running up to the girl. Eve nodded her head as she saw the rest of the group running toward them.

"Wow." Molly replied seeing the damage done to the fountain. "Lillian did give you a powerful gift."

"You can say that again." Ken murmured. He then saw the unconscious jesters. "So...is anyone ready to get that reward now?"

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

"Marvelous!" King Vince exclaimed to the Circus members when he saw the unconscious bodies of the jesters. "You actually incapacitated them....and you're only teenagers."

"Actually, I'm only ten." Prince Jeri replied, rubbing the back of his head. "So, do we get the reward now?"

"We are keepers of our word." said Queen Linda, stepping out of her throne. Carrying a small bag of coins, she placed it into Prince Jeri's hands, the young prince falling onto his knees due to the weight.

"Oof." He cried as he tried to stand up. "Thank you, very much."

"Father!" Everyone turned around to see Stephanie running towards them. "He's gone! Hunter's gone!"

Vince pinched the bridge of his nose. "Not again." He muttered.

"Is there something wrong?" Molly asked the king.

"Hunter, the successor to the throne has gone missing _**again**_." Vince spat out. "For some odd reason, every time the jesters appear, he's not in the vicinity of the area."

"Sounds like something we're going through." Mike explained. "Like why the Guardian of Harmonia, Dusk is--" Ken and Eve immediately clamped two hands on Mike's mouth as he continued to speak.

"What was that?" Stephanie asked the six.

"Nothing, nothing." Eve replied, jabbing her elbow into Mike's ribs. "You nearly told them!" She hissed into his ear.

"Let's get on our way then." Molly replied as she helped carry the bag of money out of the door. As the group started to leave, Lestat turned around to see one of the jesters starting to stir from their sleep. It paused, slowly walking to them and placing a paw on the one with blonde hair.

"There you are!" Lestat turned to see Prince Jeri grab it from the floor. The small sphinx meowed as the young boy started to rub his belly, following the other Circus members that were headed outside the castle.

When the group had left, King Vince stood up and clapped his hands. In seconds, the five green guards came in, saluting their king.

"Take them to the dungeons." He replied. "We have some interrogation to do."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

"You're so cute!" A girl cried seeing Prince Jeri. The poor prince was trying his hardest to get away from the hugs, while hiding his ears. The little woolen pink cap had been taken away so he had to go through so much abuse.

"Help me!" He cried out to Molly from the crowd. She couldn't hear him as she was getting some sandwiches from a small stand. The other members were already trying their hardest to get the girls away from the prince, but it was unsuccessful.

"Please let him go!" Eve begged. "He's very sensitive..." She was unfortunately knocked down and hit her bottom. She soon thought of an idea and took a deep breath...

"Don't!" Mike said, covering her mouth with a hand. "If you do so, you're going to cause us more trouble."

"Then what do we do, chick magnet?" Ken muttered. "We have to stop this crowd somehow."

Suddenly a dart flew into the air, going through the crowd of girls. They soon turned around, seeing Molly with three darts in her left hand and a bunch of items wrapped in paper in her right hand.

"Ladies," she said in a threatening tone. "If you don't keep your hands away from Prince Jeri, then I can assure you that I'll do the very same thing I did to those jesters. And don't think I'm joking; I almost killed the prince a couple of years ago when a dart nearly hit his forehead."

"It's true, she did." Prince Jeri replied with sad eyes. "Don't make Molly kill me again, please? Can you just leave us alone? I don't want any of you to be hurt because of me." The girls stopped what they were doing and looked at the sad look in the prince's eyes.

"Okay then." A young girl, who was around five, replied. "But since you're in a circus, do you promise to stop by and perform again soon?"

"Sure." Prince Jeri smiled. "It's a prince's duty to help those in need!" The girls squealed once more as they left, whispering to each other on how the show will be. When they were gone, the five let out a sigh of relief.

"Finally, some lunch." said Mike as he was given a paper wrapped sandwich. He then unraveled it, removing the top slice of bread up and stared at what was there: just a strange piece of meat. "What is this, Molly?"

"Head cheese." Molly replied as she passed the rest of the sandwiches to everyone else. "The guy said it was delicious, and we got a discount due to our heroism."

"What's head cheese?" asked Eve, staring at her sandwich weirdly.

"It's the best thing you'll ever eat." Prince Jeri explained as Molly gave a fish to Lestat. "It's made out of the meat of a boiled pig head and then they add gelatin and seasoning so..."

"That's enough." Ken interrupted. "You're going to make me sick."

"Oh come on, Ken." Molly replied, pushing the sandwich into his mouth. "I won't let you be alone until you eat all of the sandwich...and besides...I know how to dissect a corpse pretty well..."

Mike turned to Prince Jeri. "How did she become your guardian?" He asked.

Prince Jeri smiled. "Well, one day when I was around five, I was in the forest playing. But then this..." He suddenly paused, something flooding his head. "Oh my god....the vision..." He turned to Molly. "Molly, remember when we met up with Gangrel before heading off to Modera, when we saw that vision?"

"How could I not?" Molly replied, shuddering. "I hope I never get nightmares."

"And that book made by Lestat and David..." Prince Jeri gulped. "It was like it predicted who was going to be in the Dream Circus....We saw Dusk five years ago near the Fantasia River...."

"Oh my god..." Molly replied. "That could explain why he was familiar somehow...we told him about our history, and about the Water Lily Orb...We accidentally attacked him many years ago..."

"You did what?" Eve gasped out. "How could you?"

"An evil presence was near us." Prince Jeri replied. "The Cat's Eye treasure of my people warned us of it, and somehow Dusk wanted it for himself...so we battled him, and attacked him....and just when we were about to be defeated, he ran off..."

"That's when I was appointed to be Prince Jeri's guardian." Molly replied. "So I could not be so defenseless and that I would keep my promise on protecting the prince. I am the only one in my family who is an expert with knives...Because of the skill, I could kill or damage anyone who could kill Prince Jeri from a far distance. Should it come to disaster, I pray that I won't have to kill Gangrel."

"A book that determined members of a circus, and an encounter with you five years ago." Ken replied once he swallowed his sandwich. "Something definitely doesn't add up..."

"Agreed." Eve replied. "But...what is Dusk's reason in being in Harmonia? Why isn't he sent to this sacred altar and guiding it with a fair hand?"

"Beats me." Mike replied. "But all I know is that things might get more difficult...."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 **

"For the last time, I don't know what you're talking about!" The blonde jester spat out. He was soon slapped in the face. "And stop slapping me!"

"Sorry, HHH." Kenny sneered. "But you're not going anywhere until you confess to your crimes of vandalism, destroyed property, and embarrassing the McMahon name. What do you have to say for yourselves?!"

"Let us go!" The brunette jester screamed out. "We didn't do anything! Why are you doing this?!"

"Because HBK," Mitch replied, bringing out the fallen sledgehammer from the jesters. "We can." He then slammed it against both of the jester's heads, both of them falling to the ground unconscious. Nothing was said for a while as the five laughed at the jesters.

"That's what you get for messing with us." Nicky sneered. "Good bye...." Before he could finish the jesters slowly started to stir awake....getting onto their knees, they looked up at the five guards, grinning madly. Even with them both being chained to the wall, it made them more sinister.

"You thought you could hurt us, huh?" HHH sneered. "Think again...we jesters always have a trick up our sleeves!"

HBK pulled against the wrist of his other sleeve, bringing out a small silver key. Using it, he removed the cuff that was tightened against his left wrist, and then removed his right wrist. Johnny was about to attack him, but HBK immediately kicked him in the chin, causing him to fall down. Tossing the key to his partner, the shorter jester soon punched Mikey and Nicky to the ground. Mitch tried to swing the sledgehammer at the menace, but missed, hitting the chains that HHH was trying be free of. With the chains no longer bound to the wall, HHH soon grabbed onto Kenny's arms, linking them onto his elbow and slammed him against the ground.

"Too easy." HBK replied, spitting on one of them. "Now we have to get some revenge..."

"Not just yet..." said HHH looking at the hay bales left in the dungeon. "I've kept something here for just an occasion.." He rummaged through the piles of straw, revealing a couple of Spheres inside.

"Ooh, shiny." HBK replied, juggling a couple of them. "What do we do with these?"

"We do what we always do," HHH replied. "Make mayhem."

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

It was around seven in the evening when everyone in the Dream Circus was having dinner. Not wanting to explain their situation, the five new members decided to keep their reward money inside one of the bundles of hay kept in the horse drawn carriage Gangrel rode. While the rest of the Circus talked about how successful their acts were doing, the others were just quiet.

Adam turned to them. "Are you guys okay?" He asked. "You've been silent the whole time."

Molly munched on her piece of meat before replying, "No, we're fine. Just a bit exhausted, but fine."

"It seems like you went through a fight." Christian added. "I hope we don't have to go through some more in the near future."

"So do we," Ken replied. "So do we."

"Hey," Maria pointed to the very end of the table. "Matt and Jeff are performing."

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Jeff announced. "We call this performance: "Fire Flower!" Throwing dust into the air, Matt exhaled a burst of flame, causing sparks of many colors to float into the air. Jeff then threw a bunch of leaves, burning them with a fire baton in his right hand. His left hand had a Windy Sphere, causing it to form a small tornado, with the burning leaves surrounding it.

"So pretty..." Mickie gasped out as Matt and Jeff continued their act. The tornado brought up more dust as Matt let out a small breath of fire...causing more flowers to fall into the sky...

When suddenly something was thrown at them, and it exploded near their feet. They screamed as they covered their eyes and so did everyone else.

"What the heck?!" Brian cried out. "Who did this?!"

"That would be us." Everyone looked up to see two shadowy figures against the treetops. One was tossing a Sphere into the air and then caught it with his hand. "We're looking for a bit of revenge for what five little kids from this Circus did to us."

"We didn't do anything." Randy replied. "We were all practicing our stuff for our next performance."

"And we don't even know you!" John added. "Wait a second...the only ones who were never here were..."

John turned to see Molly, Prince Jeri, Ken, Mike and Eve try to walk away. "What did you do?" He asked the group.

"Maybe this could answer your question, John." Paul replied, bringing out a Wanted poster. "They must've went for the reward and tried to capture them. But after that...."

"The little banshee bitch they had was the reason we got incarcerated." HHH snapped. The Circus then stared at Eve at the remark. "But the other four are just as guilty in putting us all in the dungeon."

"And it's now time to play...." The HBK grinned, smashing a Blade Sphere in his hands. A small dagger appeared in his hands as he jumped down from the trees. He then grabbed onto Jeff's hair, the young boy screaming in pain as he felt a knife near his neck.

"Jeff!" Ashley cried, bringing out her staff. "Don't you dare touch him!"

"One step from any of you, and both of them die!" The brunette yelled. Molly unclenched her fist as she slowly pulled out three darts from behind her back, ready to strike.

"Let them go, you monsters!" Everyone turned to see Gangrel with his hands raised in the air, glowing with a blue light. "You hurt them, and you both die!"

"Make us!" HHH screamed out. "You were the reason why it fell...eight years ago it was destroyed, and you were the cause of it!"

Gangrel quirked an eyebrow. "What do you mean it was destroyed?" He asked. "I've never seen you two in my life!"

"That's a lot of bull!" HBK yelled out as Jeff's eyes started to show falling tears. "You were the one that caused the fire in Symphonic all those years ago and destroyed them....destroyed our friends and our family..." He grinned as he stared at Jeff's neck. "But now...we'll repay the favor, starting with him."

"No!" Matt screamed out, trying to run toward his brother. HHH soon caught him by his black hair and pulled him away all the while, his hand was trying to grab for Jeff's. "Jeff! Grab my hand!"

"Mattie!" Jeff cried out. "Don't leave me! Don't leave me!"

"I won't!" Matt replied. "I'll—of!" He was punched in the face and fell to the ground as a boot slammed onto his head. He slowly raised it to see HBO's hand rise into the air and slowly go into the brother's neck.

"JEFF!" Matt cried out in the ensuing chaos. The rest of the Circus closed their eyes when they saw the blade get closer and closer to Jeff...time seemed to slow down at that point...while they closed their eyes, Gangrel saw another memory...

"_Lestat!" David cried finding the small boy lying in the dirt. "Lestat, are you okay?"_

_Lestat slowly started to wake up. "David? Is that you?"_

_David hugged his brother. "It is, now we have to go...it's dangerous...Can you get up?"_

_Lestat tried to stand up, but it hurt him. Tears fell down his face as he stared into his brother's eyes. They started to close..._

"_No...." David whispered shaking his brother. "Don't die on me, Lestat! Please don't!"_

"_David..." The older boy stared as the younger boy's voice was nothing more than a soft croak. "Will we be able to make our dream Circus...a reality?"_

_David was trying his hardest not to show his tears. "Yes....we will...I promise..." _

"_Inky...swear?" Lestat shakingly lifted his pinky finger in the air as David linked it with his. They moved it up and down as they chanted the old rhyme._

"_Let us make a promise, and let us never lie. Should we lie, let a thousand needles prick us until we..."_

_David stopped as he saw Lestat not making a sound. He then saw his face, a sweet smile that added to his closed eyes...but when David lowered his ear to Lestat's chest, he found no heartbeat._

"_No..." David gasped out. "No! Wake up, Lestat! Wake up! Wake up, Lestat!" He continued for a minute or two in trying to revive his brother. But it was all for naught...Lestat was dead._

"_LESTAT!" David screamed into the air, amongst the flickering flames behind him._

Gangrel screamed in pain, grasping his head as he gasped for breath. Suddenly a bright light surrounded him as two feathery wings grew from his back.

HBK dropped his dagger and Jeff onto the ground. "What in the world?"

"Oh no...." Matt replied when the light disappeared. Dusk replaced Gangrel as an angry face was shown on the child.

"How dare you," Dusk spat out. ":How dare you hurt those brothers! I'll kill you! I'll kill you until you're nothing but ashes!" He brought out two orbs of fire, barely missing the members of the Dream Circus by a couple of inches as they flew to the jesters. Both of them dodged at the last second, scorching many of the trees behind them. The fires soon started to burn the trees, trapping everyone within.

"Everyone!" Adam cried out. "Get the animals and all of your belongings! We have to get out of here now!"

The Dream Circus agreed while Dusk paid no attention to them. He floated into the air, soon flying toward the jesters who split into two directions. Seeing this dilemma he snarled a bit as a sword started to appear in his hands.

"Those two have the audacity on hurting those innocent brothers." He whispered to himself. "So many people don't have families, and people trying to separate them from people who love them should die..." He flew into the air as the flames licked away the wood.

"Let's go!" Adam cried as soon as everyone had packed everything away. "We have to get out of this forest now!" Everyone else nodded their heads as the animals followed Adam on the horse-drawn cart. The intense heat of the flames caused them to sweat, as fallen branches and scorching flames caught them on some turns. However, they were able to get through it safely, most of them collapsing onto the floor from heat stroke.

"Water..." Prince Jeri gasped out. "So thirsty...."

"Leave it to me!" said Maria, bringing out her staff. She twirled it into the air as a giant raincloud soon appeared above them. A low rumbling sound was heard as a giant downpour of rain re freshened the animals and teenagers from their tired state. It soon killed the fire that affected the trees, everyone letting out a sigh of relief when it dispersed.

"That was close." said Eve. "Now what do we do? We've got those two jesters and Dusk loose in this village."

"Well, first things first." said Jay. "We have to split up." He pointed to Prince Jeri, Molly, Eve, Mike and Ken. "You guys are coming with me to fight Dusk in the forest and somehow subdue him."

"Why us?" Mike whined. "That guy is scary."

"Believe me," Molly replied. "You haven't seen scary yet."

"I'll take on the blonde jester." said Adam. "Maria, Mickie, Ashley, Paul, Brian....will you aide me?"

"Definitely!" Mickie replied. "Aside from Gangrel, you and Jay are like, our second-in-commands!"

"Just tell us what to do, and we'll do it!" Brian added.

"As long as it doesn't kill us." Paul brought up.

"Then that leaves me with John, Shannon, Matt and Jeff and that other jester." Randy replied. "Up for it, guys?"

"I'll protect you, no matter what." John replied. "For that is the destiny of the Lupin Prince and his bride...er, husband..."

"That son of a bitch nearly killed my friends." Shannon snarled. "That man has to die..."

"Let's burn him to a crisp!" Jeff replied, his hands holding two orbs of fire.

"I wish you all good luck." Adam replied. "This maybe our most difficult battle yet." He brought out his bow and raised it into the air. "For the Dream Circus!" He chanted.

"For the Dream Circus!" Everyone else chanted, raising their own weapons into the air.

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Deep within the ancient ruins, Lord David stared at the three groups of teenagers splitting up. He then waved a hand and saw Dusk, searching for the jesters in the thick and smoldering forest. He concentrated on the small boy, trying to figure out something from him.

"This little boy has cost me the powers of two Guardians, and has lost me two of my best warriors." He snarled. "I will make sure I figure out what is so special about that little runt."

"Those kids in that little Circus will stop him once more." Ariel replied. "And in the end, those Vessels will be coming to us in the end...so why should we go and do anything?"

"We won't be doing attacks on that Circus for quite some time..." Lord David replied. "But for now, we'll see how this develops...and if not, I am certain that the groups we have planted all over Geb and the Great Desert will have them distracted for a while..."

"And I have seen how the Guardian of Geb acts like. I truly feel sorry for whomever is his Guardian...."

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_What happened to Stephanie's husband, Hunter?_

_What is the reason for the anger of the two jesters?_

_Will the Dream Circus be able to stop three menaces in the capital city?_

_And who are the Guardian and Vessel of Geb?_

_All this and more in the next chapter of "Masquerade in the Night"_

_Read and review until then!_


	19. Circinus, The Dividers

_**All right, let's get this show on the road. Things will get hectic as I balance around 5 or 6 stories. So please be patient if this one is not updated, okay?**_

_**Let's get started!**_

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**Masquerade in the Night**

**by Green Phantom Queen**

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**Chapter 19-Circinus, the Dividers**

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Randy knew from experience that going into battle was going to be tricky. No one would know what was going to happen when it came to a fight, and due to him leading four other members of the Circus into battle, he was getting nervous.

He was trying his hardest to meditate, but the worry about him being responsible for the deaths of everyone in the group frightened him. What if he screwed up? Would the spirits of his friends be angry at him for causing his death? He shivered as sweat covered his face, as more and more thoughts rang in his mind...all that he was focused on was making sure he was able to support everyone.

Everyone else was already practicing on a couple of targets—all created from mud, grass, leaves and twigs—the thoughts of destroying those jesters clear in their minds. How dare they tried to kill some of their own....they would pay.

"How could they?!" Shannon yelled punching one of the trees with his bare fists. "When I get my hands on them, Dynamo will definitely constrict them like the mice they are."

"Not unless we burn them to a crisp!" Matt replied back as he exhaled a gust of fire onto a bull's eye. "I can't believe they tried to kill you, Jeff!"

"I'm just as pissed as you are, Matt!" John added, his hands growing into fierce wolf paws. "No one will do that as long as I'm around."

"Guys!" Randy snapped opening one eye. "You being pissed off at the jesters is making me nervous!"

"You'll be more than nervous when I get done with you." The five looked up to see one of the jesters—the one with long brown hair—staring right at them. Jumping from one of the thick branches of the trees, he flipped in the air before landing gracefully in front of the Circus members.

"You're HBK!" Jeff yelled, pointing at the jester. "How dare you try and kill me!"

"I have a name you know." The jester grinned. "I'm Shawn Michaels, the Heart Break Kid, and one half of the jesters of the Circus of Freedom?"

"The Circus of Freedom?" Shannon repeated. "But that Circus got destroyed eight years ago by..." Matt immediately clamped a hand on his friend's mouth before he could finish the sentence.

"By the ringleader of your circus, right?" Shawn finished. "Hunter and I saw him amongst the flames before we could escape....he was the one....you called him Gangrel, right?"

"Gangrel wasn't even in Symphoni!" Jeff cried out. "He...he..." He turned to Matt. "Where was he when the fire broke out?"

"I'm not sure, exactly." Matt replied. "He hasn't told us anything about his past at all..."

"So that means he did kill the Circus!" Shawn screamed. "And if you won't tell me, guess I'll have to send him a message!" In a blink of an eye, there were now seven clones of Shawn Michaels surrounding the group, each of them wielding the face of anger of the original.

"Oh crap." Shannon muttered. "This is going to be—ack!" He didn't finish when one of them kick him in the jaw, causing him to fall down. The boot soon stepped on his neck, making it harder to breathe.

"Shannon!" Jeff cried as two of the clones grabbed his arms and waist. "No! Let me go!"

"Jeff!" Matt screamed as two more of the dopplegangers moved in front of him. Anger was on his face as he cried, "Die!" He inhaled and soon let out a gout of flames which soon turned them both to ashes. He didn't waste any time as he pushed the clone off of Shannon.

"Thanks for that." Moore muttered as he sat up. "A couple of seconds later, I would've asked you for a knife to kill you with!" Matt rolled his eyes as he soon got pummeled by the sixth clone, causing him to be on his stomach and being pinned to the ground.

"This is getting annoying!" Randy snarled, as his spellbook levitated around him. "Time to end this once and for all!" His eyes started to glow as his staff was raised into the air.

"I summon the spirits of Lestat and David Heath!" He chanted. "Come out, and reveal the true story that day!"

"That's a good idea!" John cried as he was fighting the real Shawn. "If we show David Heath onto the field, then we can prove Gangrel is innocent!" He soon felt a hand around his neck as he felt one of the clones choke him, the real one ready to strike.

"Get off of me!" Jeff yelled as he stepped on the foot on one of the clones. Turning around, he quickly removed the one that was trapping his arms and soon released two orbs of fire at them directly. The effect incinerated them both to ashes as he did the same thing to the one that was trapping his brother.

Shannon prepared his flute, Dynamo slithering around his legs. Matt was straining to get out of the grip from the clones on top of him. John was soon kicked in the face and fell with a thud. Jeff was punching some of more clones with his fiery fists while Randy lifted his hands in the air.

"Appear now!" He cried as a bright light engulfed the entire area. Everyone was waiting, waiting for an answer to finally help end things once and for all. And to their surprise...

The light faded, and nothing was there. No spirits, no David Heath and no Lestat.

"This can't be right!" Randy said in a panic. "But they're supposed to be dead! This doesn't make sense!"

"Yeah, well neither does this!" Shannon immediately played a few notes on the flute, pressing his lips on the hole as the notes flew in the air. Dynamo immediately slithered to the real Shawn and looked up at him.

"Snake!" Shawn screamed seeing the reptile inched closer and closer. The little thing flicked its tongue into the air, and then striked.

And then, all that was heard was a scream before Shannon waltzed in and whacked Shawn on the head with his flute. The blow knocked him out, and thus all of the clones soon dispersed.

"All right, this is weird." said Jeff. "Why didn't David Heath and Lestat when Randy told them to? They died...right?"

"That's right, Jeff...he did." Matt answered back. "The newspaper clippings said so..."

"But then, why weren't they summoned?" John asked Randy. "Are you sure you're doing it right?"

"Of course I was!" Randy snapped back. "I've never received a bad end from the other side though....something is wrong."

"Either way," said Shannon as Dynamo came back to its owner. "We need to take this guy back to whomever wants him, it's no use to have this guy near us when Dusk's around."

John soon let himself transform into a wolf and knelt down near the fallen jester. With a small whine he started to lick his face as to wake him up.

"John!" Randy hissed, pulling John away by the scruff of his neck. "What are you doing? He's the enemy!"

"I know," John replied, the words escaping the wolf's lips. "But you have to feel sorry for them, they were full of anger because they lost their family thanks to Dusk...do you think that's going to happen to us later on?"

Randy couldn't reply. Instead. He and the other Circus members just stared at the jester slowly waking up. Shawn placed a hand on his forehead as John panted in delight.

"Man...what happened to me?" Shawn asked in confusion. He then stared at the members of the Dream Circus. "And who are you supposed to be?"

"Don't you remember us?" Jeff asked shyly. "You tried to kill me with a knife...and your partner pinned my brother down to the ground."

"I did...all of that?" Shawn asked in confusion. "No...that can't be right...last I remember is being sent into that jail cell, and then being knocked out. I don't recall hurting an innocent child."

"This doesn't make any sense!" Shannon exclaimed. "What's going on here?!"

"Shawn," said Randy, kneeling close to the jester. "I think you're suffering from a split personality...this is your 'fake' personality, while your 'real' personality is a jester who wants revenge. It may be hard to understand but...well..." He placed his hand on Shawn's forehead, a light aura glowing faintly from his palm and fingertips. Shawn gasped when he saw memories combine and merge together...

"Damn," Shannon replied seeing the site. "How did you know that?"

"If he was possessed, I would've seen it." Randy explained. "There's no spirit harming him, except of a 'double' that was created. It was most likely formed when both Shawn and his partner were knocked unconscious by the effect...then they could pass as local civilians, while deep down, they continue their jester ways."

The glowing stopped as Randy stepped back. Shawn slowly started to stand up, trying to understand what was going on. There was some silence as he stared into the eyes of the young boys, before he ran away from them.

"Come back!" Jeff cried, only for Matt to stop him.

"Let him go, Jeff." said Matt as they watched Shawn disappear into the forest. "Let him see what has happened."

John whined as he laid his head near Randy's feet. "That was scary...I hope the others are all right. He murmured.

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"Mew." Stryker replied as Adam patted her head. She was seeing her master and the veteran members of the Dream Circus getting prepared for battle. Paul was concentrating on making sculptures of ice and Brian was firing blasts of black energy while flying in the air. Ashley, Maria and Mickie were using their staffs to attack makeshift targets.. Adam was wrapping black crystals on his crafted arrows, making sure that they were tied with the pieces of string. "I don't like this." He muttered. "This is the third time Dusk has appeared...in the span of about two weeks."

"That doesn't make sense." said Maria. "And the strange thing is...we don't even know why he transformed the last two times; Molly and Prince Jeri were there the first time that happened, and when we met Eve he transformed in front of us after she screamed...is there a connection to these events that we don't know?"

"Connection or not, we have to make sure those jesters pay." said Ashley. "If they mess with one member of the Circus, they mess with all of us."

"I'm with you, Ash." Paul replied. "Time to squash him like a bug!"

"That was my line!" The Circus members looked to see the taller jester appear, brandishing a large sledgehammer. The size of it alone made them worried; it could've been used to help a giant repair his own castle!

"RUN!" Brian replied as they split into two groups. The blonde barbarian soon slammed the hammer onto the ground, causing the earth to rumble a bit from the force. Adam placed Stryker onto his shoulder as he fired a couple of arrows at the man. Unfortunately, the man lifted the hammer just in time, pushing the arrows away.

"Damn it!" Adam cried, trying to supply his bow with more arrows. "This guy is strong!"

"Yeah, but where there's strength, there's a decrease in speed." said Paul, rushing toward the guy. "Come and get me, you big orc!"

"My name is Triple H!" The jester snapped as he dragged his hammer to where Paul was. The white jester raised his hands as a spike of ice rose from the ground, coming in contact with the weapon. "And you guys are going to pay!"

"What did we ever do to you?!" Adam exclaimed. "We've never seen you before in our life!"

"But you're with him!" Triple H hissed. "The one who caused the fire at the Freedom Circus eight years ago! The one that killed everyone except me and Shawn."

"Freedom Circus?!" The group cried, Stryker yowling at the name.

"But Gangrel was never near the Freedom Circus!" Brian exclaimed. "He was....he was..." He turned to Ashley and Maria. "Do you guys remember anything about his past?"

"Except for the fact that he had a huge for a memory before meeting us, and the fact that he wanted to create a Circus of Dreams, no." Ashley replied.

"He never talks about it either." Maria added.

Triple H snarled. "So you guys are hiding something, aren't you?!" He swung his hammer to the three who immediately dodged it at the last second. The trees that they were hiding from soon were smashed and fell on the ground with rumbling thuds.

"Fire!" said Ashley, using her Twinkle Star staff to fire a storm of stars at the jester. Triple H groaned as he was hit directly by the projectiles, but otherwise was still standing.

"Take this!" Maria cried as her staff transformed into a rainbow crossbow. She fired it at her target, a globby bolt of paint soon making in contact with her target. An explosion of rainbow colored smoke surrounded the radius, and when it was gone, it revealed the jester in chains while the hammer was at his side, out of reach.

"Attack everyone!" Adam cried, firing a few arrows at the target as he ran toward him. "Make sure he's down for the count!"

As he neared Triple H, the jester grinned, pulling his arms from his restraints until they broke. Instantly, he grabbed onto the handle of his hammer, ready to swing it at the unsuspecting archer.

"Adam, look out!" Mickie cried brandishing her Blustery Wind Staff. She let out a gust of wind that pushed the lion tamer to the side. Just in time too, as the mallet slammed on the spot where Adam was originally standing.

Brian swooped down from the air and grabbed onto the handle of the hammer. Unfortunately...it was heavy, so heavy that Brian couldn't move it away and was stuck trying to grab it.

"Damn it!" He hissed. "That thing must weigh a ton!"

"How about I help you?" Brian looked up to see the mallet whack him in the face causing him to scream and fall to the ground with a thud.

"Oh, that's it!" said Maria. "Everyone attack with their own projectiles!"

Paul brought out a good chunk of ice and threw it in the air. Stealing Mickie's wand he whacked the piece of ice as it was falling. The sound of a crack was heard and the projectile toward the target. With a small explosion the target was it.

"Fire in the hole!" He stated before Mickie bashed him on the head. Mickie then twirled her staff in the air, letting out a gust of air to hit the jester.

Paul gripped his hands as sharp icicles were formed. He threw them great precision; thanks to the tornado, they moved quicker than usual, causing the jester to turn around and swing his hammer at the ice and smash them to bits.

"Over here!" Triple H turned to see three arrows pierce through his left arm, causing him to hiss in pain. It was then followed by a couple of stars, two blobs of rainbow paint and a couple orbs of black energy.

"The Game's going to kill you all!" Triple H yelled using his right hand to swing the hammer. All of the projectiles soon got destroyed by the hammer's head. "Now come out here and fight me!"

"This is nuts!" said Brian. "That hammer is too heavy for us to carry on our own and that guy has enough strength to carry it to destroy our projectiles!"

"We might as well making a big circle around him and fire all our projectiles!" Ashley muttered sarcastically. She then noticed the look in her friends' eyes. "Um...I was only joking!"

"Circle him!" Ashley sighed as she followed everyone to create a circle, each member at least 10 feet away from the target.

"FIRE AT WILL!" Adam cried releasing an arrow. Each of the Circus performers fired their magic at the opponent, a small clearing of smoke appeared at the attacks.

"Did it work?" asked Maria as they stared at the site. "Did we get him!"

"Just wish you did!" The smoke cleared, revealing the jester unharmed, but very pissed off. Gripping onto the hammer, it was raised in the air, not once did Triple H show any sign of fatigue.

"We're...going to die." Adam stated as Stryker mewed sadly. "Goodbye, Stryker. Nice seeing you."

Suddenly something was heard....everyone turned to see Shawn landing a swift kick to his partner's jaw, causing the jester to fall down, hammer in hand. The six Circus members screamed as they scrambled out of the way. The hammer fell back with a heavy thud, most likely causing a giant crater from the impact.

"Guys!" Adam turned to see Randy and his small group running toward them panting for breath. "You won't believe what we found out!"

"Aside from the fact that the jester we fought wields a giant mallet?!" Brian exclaimed. "I mean, that thing was HUGE!"

"Well, it turns out that both David Heath and Lestat aren't spirits." said Shannon. "Randy tried summoning them in our fight against the brunette jester and nothing worked!"

"And it turns out that both jesters are suffering from multiple personality disorder." Matt added. "Say, how's Jay and the others?"

"Most likely getting killed by that little boy." said Shawn, walking up to the Dream Circus. "Please accept my apology for what Hunter and I have done to you all."

"Well, you're going to have to explain that to Gangrel once he's knocked unconscious." said Matt. "Speaking of which...where is he anyway?"

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"This is just great." Jay muttered under his breath as he looked at the Bomb Sphere in his hand. "This guy is out of control!"

Dusk was at the broken remains of the marketplace, sitting at the top of the water fountain. He was staring intently at the group that was supposed to fight him with sick glee. Surrounding them were the black flames that formed a ring entrapping the seven. Originally, the fight went into the forest, but dusk was playing a game of chase and lured them into the town square, entrapping them inside the ring of fire. This was not good.

"Anyone have any ideas?" asked Mike. "I'll go with anything that works!"

"Here's one." said Ken. "We scatter and try to confuse him!" He brought out his Lunati Puppet, the white haired woman appearing in front of her master. "If he's attacked in different areas, then he won't make it!"

Mike brought out his shield—which he carried with him on such an occasion—throwing it to the small boy. Molly accompanied him by throwing a couple of her darts as she ran in a circle.

"I get it!" said Eve. "Due to her speed, Molly can throw all her darts all around the area with relative ease! Due to them being thrown at different times, Dusk can't block all of them at..."

Dusk smirked as a black sphere surrounded his body. The shield and the darts bounced off and fell to the ground with a clatter.

"Or maybe not." Eve replied.

"Those little things can't hurt me." Dusk giggled amongst the crackling of the fire. " It'll take more than a place and some knives to hurt me...Mommy and Daddy made me invincible after all."

"Who are these child's parents?" asked Eve. Jay whispered something into her ear. "Oh goodness...."

"How about I attack you now?!" The fallen weapons soon started to levitate off the ground with an evil glow, then fired themselves at the six.

"Duck!" said Prince Jeri as the group tried to run from the projectiles. Unfortunately, Dusk yawned as he let the shield whiz by Mike's head like a buzz saw, and the darts follow the others as if they were homing beacons. Prince Lestat managed to roll away from one just in time with Lestat still in his arms.

"This ends now!" said Jay, bringing out a Rainy Sphere. Smashing it with his hands, a huge torrent of rain appeared above the group. Unfortunately, the water could not dowse the black blaze that surrounded the group, and one of the darts cut through Jay's arms.

"A simple Sphere cannot douse these flames." Dusk replied. "How are you going to beat me with those things alone?"

Ken launched Lunati into the air, white paper fans brandished into six of the arms. She threw them at the enemy, each of them ready to slice the Guardian of Harmonia to pieces. Dusk turned around and put his hands in front of his face to block the blows. Jay used the time to throw his Bomb Sphere into the air, then used his trident to whack it like it was a baseball.

A small 'boom' was heard as Dusk was hit full force with the blow.

Eve opened her eyes to see the darts drop to the ground with a thud. "Thank goodness," She replied, breathing a sigh of relief. The siren looked up to see Dusk stare at the group with anger.

"That's not going to work!" Dusk laughed. "It'll take more than a cheap toy and a little fire to stop me!"

"Eve," Mike hissed. "Sing to him...that worked the last time.

Eve nodded her head and took in a deep breath. Then she let out a soft note and clasped her hands together. Orbs of many different colored lights began to float around her as she continued her song. Dusk's eyes started to grow heavy as the melody continued.

"It's working." Molly whispered. "Keep singing, Eve!"

Eve continued to sing as everyone else stared in awe. The lights circled and formed around Dusk who was slowly nodding off to sleep. Then...the orbs disintegrating into nothing, and Eve was pushed back by an unknown force, causing her fallen body to nearly land near the fire.

"That's not going to work either." Dusk sang. "You're going to have to do better than that!"

"Oh, we will you monster!" Dusk turned to see Triple H wielding his massive hammer from outside the fiery barrier. "You're going to pay for what you did to our Circus."

"Just don't kill him!" Shawn whispered to his partner. "If we kill him, we're going to die."

"I'm not going to hurt him, watch." Triple H lifted the hammer in to the air and soon swung it down so the head was going to hit Dusk squarely on the head.

"There's a dome protecting us!" Dusk smirked. "How can your little hammer stop..." The hammer head smashed onto the dome, and it broke into pieces. The flames disintegrated into nothing as the group sighed.

"Now for you!" Dusk's eyes widened when he saw the hammer head reaching him. Time slowed down as Triple H lightly tapped him on the head...but the force of it was enough to make him fall off of the fountain and hit the ground unconscious.

"This hammer was a gift from Chyna." Triple H explained. "She gave it to me around eight years ago for the celebration of the 5-year anniversary of the Freedom Circus. It can grow to the size I want it to be, and I'm the only one who could wield it. That also means I can control how hard I hammer things in with this thing."

"Does this mean you're both on our side now?" asked Prince Jeri with some fear, recalling what had happened earlier that morning.

"Well, they will be." said Adam as the rest of the Dream Circus came. "But first, we have to make sure Gangrel is back at the Camp, and that these two 'veterans' apologize for their actions to King Vincent."

"So they aren't going to go all psycho on us and not do any more trouble?" asked Molly, picking up her weapons. "Because I'm still a bit miffed that they nearly tried to kill Prince Jeri."

"Don't worry, don't worry." said Adam. "Things are going to work out...what could possibly go wrong?"

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"HE WHAT?!" King Vince roared. "Are you trying to tell me that the future heir to my thrown is one of those damn jesters?!"

Appearing in the castle the next day, Adam, Jay and the new residents to the Dream Circus were standing in front of the King and his wife. The yell scared the group, sort of knowing that he was going to react in that manner.

"You were saying?" asked Jay to his brother. "And after what you said about my big mouth back at Vivace!"

"Well you can't blame him, sir." said Adam. "They got knocked unconscious after an incident happened in Symphoni eight years ago. Then they must've wandered here and that's how everything happened."

"Apparently, every time they were asleep or got knocked out, their personalities would switch." said Ken, bringing out a scroll to the king. In the morning they are the regular people and act as if they never were jesters, but at night...they prank the villagers for a night of fun."

"When we met up with Hunter this morning, he must've been in his 'normal' state." Mike added. "Then somehow they fell unconscious and soon tackled us when we performed today. And when Eve screeched and knocked them unconscious, they reverted back to 'normal' once more."

"That means that they must've received blows to their heads after we got the reward money!" Prince Jeri concluded. "Then they must've escaped and followed us...and that's when trouble appeared.

"So...it was no one's fault?" asked Queen Linda. "Oh my..."

"Actually, it sort of is someone's fault." said Molly. "Have you ever heard of the Guardian of Harmonia?"

"I've been taught about the mythology of this land, and I've never heard that it had a Guardian." Vince answered.

"Well, you're about to learn." said Adam. "Apparently Gaea and Darkness created a son long, long ago to help be like a judge of all the people living there. But then, evil men hurt Darkness and caused their son to go on a rampage...and then the boy's soul was sealed, and he was known as Dusk."

"From what we pieced together Dusk appeared eight years ago in Symphoni and destroyed the Freedom Circus." Jay explained. "But there were two boys named David Heath and Lestat who looked similar to Gangrel and Dusk, respectively. But when Randy—who is a necromancer—tried to call on their spirits, there was no reply. And Dusk is inside Gangrel's body...so it doesn't make any sense."

"And please don't tell him about it." Molly begged. "If the old man finds out, things will get worse! And we already got the problems of Darkness awakening."

"All right, I'll stay quiet about it and will give both Hunter and Shawn reprimands for their actions." said Vince. "But I'll have to explain to Stephanie that her wedding is off."

"No it won't!" said Prince Jeri. "Hunter, I mean Triple H, stated that once they avenged the Freedom Circus by helping us, they'll have the wedding! And we've already met up with two of the six Guardians!"

"These kids think up of everything, don't they?" Linda laughed. "Now where are you off to?"

"Don't know." said Jay, shrugging his shoulders. "We need a break from traveling and to just heal ourselves after what happened here...can you recommend a place for us to stay?"

"I think I know of a place." said Vince with a smile on his face.

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The seven members of the Circus soon came back to the others who were already clearing up breakfast dishes. There was a nervous aura, probably due to the events that happened the night before. Stryker and Lestat ran up to their masters, purring in delight.

"So," asked Brian. "What's the verdict?"

"Hunter and Shawn are free!" Prince Jeri cried. "And Hunter's wedding is put off until the day he arrives back here!"

"We're also taking a break from performing and traveling, also." said Adam, reaching for a scroll in his bag. "We're off to the Laree Farm!"

Mickie...who was washing the dishes...nearly broke the one in her hands. "The...what?" She asked in a timid voice.

"The Laree Farm!" Jay repeated. "They're friends with the McMahon family and are arranging us to stay with them for three days. Since it's a very short distance from here, then we'll reach there by lunch!"

"Great." Mickie uttered sarcastically. "I'll meet up with Mom and Dad again."

"Wait." said Mike, looking utterly bewildered. "You are from Laree Farms?"

"Yeah." The contortionist replied. "But my 'parents' were too busy with the farm that I couldn't stand it. One day I was trying to help one of the stray cats in the barn, but I fell and landed on my back pretty badly. My parents thought I was doing all those 'crazy stuff' like the Circus people did and beat me, only making my pain worse. Then...about two months after the incident, Gangrel appeared and healed my body. He then gave me the opportunity to run away from home, which I did. I was taught to use my body in a way not possible, and I am forever in his debt." She stared sadly at her reflection in the soapy dish. "I'd thought I never have to see them again."

"It's only going to be three whole days, and then you'll be with us after that!" said Maria, hugging her friend. "Now come on, let's do these dishes before we head off."

"Let me help you with that." said Molly, walking up to the two. "I'm good at cleaning."

While the chores were being done, Gangrel was slowly waking up, he felt something on his back and started to itch at it. He looked at the three mirrors on his makeshift table...his eyes widening to see small feathery wings—one white and one black—sticking out of his back.

_Daybreak..._He thought in his mind. _What's going on?_

He heard no response as he closed his eyes shut, trying to make the site of things go away. He opened them once more, and found the wings to have disappeared, and he let out a sigh of relief.

Unfortunately, he did not see two important things. First, was that Dusk was laughing like a maniac, knowing that Gangrel was getting closer and closer to losing himself completely.

The second, was that the wing tattoos that Gangrel had not thought about for some time were already melding together down his spine.

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_How will Mickie's parents react when the Dream Circus reach the Laree Farm?_

_What is in store for the newest members of the Dream Circus?_

_When will Dusk strike next?_

_And is there any hope to save Gangrel?_

_All this and more in the next chapter._

_Until then, read and review!_


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